WhatsApp charges: New fees to affect Tanzanian businesses

Instead, the changes will affect businesses using the WhatsApp Business Platform/API for customer communication.

Speaking to The Citizen, Founder of Ghala and a Meta Business Partner, Kalebu Gwalugano, said the charges would apply to service messages sent through the platform, including replies made within the 24-hour customer service window.

“This does not apply to the regular WhatsApp Business App. A message sent by a customer to start a conversation remains free, but a reply sent by the business through the API will be chargeable,” he said.

The distinction is significant because WhatsApp Business is also widely used by small businesses to communicate directly with customers, display products through catalogues and respond to enquiries.

Mr Gwalugano said the impact would be more pronounced among banks, fintechs, e-commerce companies, airlines and SMEs using WhatsApp for customer support, sales, bookings and chatbots.

“Every bot step and every back-and-forth conversation will now become a variable cost,” he said.

For businesses operating on relatively tight margins, particularly in Africa, he said the additional costs could encourage some companies to reduce their reliance on automation or shift some communication to SMS, email and in-app channels.

The change could also force businesses to reconsider how their automated customer-service systems are designed, with companies encouraged to develop bots that provide shorter and more precise responses while avoiding unnecessary exchanges.

Mr Gwalugano said the new charges could also provide Meta with additional revenue to invest in the infrastructure supporting its business-messaging platform.

However, he said charging for marketing messages was easier to understand than charging businesses for responding to customers who had initiated conversations.

“It changes WhatsApp from an affordable customer-service infrastructure into a metered channel,” he said.

While the charge for an individual message may appear small, Mr Gwalugano said the overall cost could become significant for businesses handling thousands or millions of customer interactions, particularly when other platform, artificial intelligence and service-provider costs are taken into account.

He advised businesses to assess the cost of each customer issue resolved or sale completed, reduce unnecessary bot messages and combine information into fewer messages where possible.

He also urged companies not to rely entirely on WhatsApp as their sole customer communication channel.

Meanwhile, technology expert Dominick Dismas said some small businesses could still be affected if they had connected to the WhatsApp Business Platform, even with relatively small customer bases.

“For those small businesses, it could push some towards SMS, email or websites,” he said.

Mr Dismas said the extent of the impact would depend on how heavily a business relied on the platform and the volume of messages it sent.

“Factors including the applicable Meta rate, destination market, message category, delivery and any additional charges imposed by third-party technology providers,” he shared.

The WhatsApp Business Platform is used across different sectors for customer communication and transaction-related services.

Banks can use it for transaction updates and customer enquiries, while digital lenders can communicate with borrowers.

Online retailers can send order confirmations and delivery updates, while travel companies can use the platform for booking confirmations and itinerary changes.

The possible effect on consumers is also emerging as part of the discussion.

Online shopper and entrepreneur Rukaiya Suleiman said businesses facing additional communication costs could eventually have to consider how those expenses would affect their customers.

“If a business starts paying these costs to communicate with customers, will we eventually pay through higher prices, delivery charges or service fees?” she asked.

Her concern raises the question of whether businesses will absorb the additional costs or find ways of reducing their spending on WhatsApp communication.

For Tanzanian businesses, the key issue ahead of October 1 will therefore be understanding whether they are using the regular WhatsApp Business application or the WhatsApp Business Platform.