WABA (WhatsApp Business API)

As soon as a business wants several staff, a CRM or an AI agent working on the same WhatsApp number, the phone app stops being enough. That’s where the WABA comes in: Meta’s official way to run WhatsApp from software.

What is WABA?

WABA stands for WhatsApp Business Account. Strictly speaking, it’s the business account on Meta’s platform: the container for one or more phone numbers, their display names and their approved message templates. In everyday use, many people say “WABA” to mean the whole WhatsApp Business API.

It isn’t an app. There’s no screen to type into. A WABA works connected to another program: a shared inbox, a CRM, an agent or your own code. That program sends messages by calling the API and receives customers’ messages through webhooks.

How it works

• Sign-up. The business creates the account from its Meta portfolio, on its own or with a provider, and registers a number and display name.
• Service window. When a customer writes in, a 24-hour window opens in which you can reply freely.
• Templates. Outside that window, you can only start a conversation with message templates that Meta has reviewed: appointment reminders, order confirmations, campaigns.
• Billing. Meta charges for delivered templates, by category and recipient country. Rates change, so always check Meta’s official pricing page.
• Quality. Meta tracks blocks and reports from users. If they climb, it can limit how much that number can send.

Example

An online speciality coffee shop in Galway used to answer WhatsApp from the app on a single phone. As it grows, it sets up a WABA for its customer service number. Now two people reply from the same inbox, every order triggers a template with the tracking link and, once a month, customers who opted in get a marketing template featuring the coffee of the month.

WABA at UTIO

UTIO’s WhatsApp agent offers two ways to connect your number, and both lead to the same inbox and the same CRM:

• Official WABA: a verified number in your company’s name, approved marketing templates and delivery and read receipts. This is the route for campaigns and volume.
• Your existing number, by QR: you scan a code and the agent works on the WhatsApp you already use, with no paperwork with Meta.

If in doubt, start with QR and move to WABA when you need marketing templates or receipts. The bill shows two separate items: Meta’s service conversations are included in your plan, and marketing templates, which Meta charges per send, are passed on at cost + 15%.