WhatsApp Business API: the news of 2026 at a glance

Meta has significantly changed the WhatsApp Business API (also known as WABA or WhatsApp Cloud) this year. The most important change takes effect on 1 October 2026: Meta will then also charge for replies to customers. Below you will find all the 2026 news and what it means for you.

1 October 2026: Meta charges for service messages

Until November 2024, replying to customers within 24 hours was free and unlimited. That changes from 1 October 2026:

• Per business phone number, the first 1,000 service messages per month are free. Above that, you pay per delivered message, at the same rate as a utility message in your customer's country. In the Netherlands, that's approximately 4 cents.
• Also utility templates within the 24-hour window, such as an order confirmation or appointment reminder, are no longer free.
• If your Meta account has no payment method on 30 September, Meta will stop delivering service messages.
• Remain free: messages customers send to you, and all messages in the free 72-hour window after a click-to-WhatsApp advert or the WhatsApp button on your Facebook page.

On the same date, rates change in a number of countries outside Europe (including Morocco, Ukraine, Kuwait, Oman and Kazakhstan up; Bangladesh, Iraq, Nepal and Sri Lanka down). The Netherlands and Belgium are not on that list. If you message frequently with customers in those countries, check Meta's rate card.

Usernames: customers can hide their number

WhatsApp is introducing usernames in 2026. A customer can then message you without showing their phone number. Businesses will see a fixed code per customer in that case, the so-called BSUID (business-scoped user ID). This happens step by step:

• April 2026: the BSUID is included with every incoming message.
• 29 June 2026: businesses can reserve a username.
• July 2026: sending messages to a BSUID becomes possible.
• Rest of 2026: usernames will gradually become available to users.

If you have had contact with a customer in the past 30 days, or the customer is in your Meta contact book, you will continue to see their number. A new customer with a username will only be visible as a BSUID. If you track customers by phone number, make sure your systems can also handle that code.

AI assistants on WhatsApp: Meta versus Brussels

• 15 January 2026: Meta bans general AI assistants (chatbots that talk about everything) on the Business API. Bots for your own business, such as customer service, appointments, orders and sales, remain permitted.
• March 2026: Meta allows competing AI assistants in Europe again, but only for a fee.
• 9 June 2026: the European Commission imposes interim measures on Meta. Meta must again allow competing AI assistants free access, under the conditions from before October 2025, until the competition investigation is complete. Meta appeals against this.
• July 2026: major AI assistants are once again accessible via WhatsApp in the EU.

Changed earlier (and still in force)

• From 1 July 2025 Meta charges per message instead of per 24-hour conversation.
• Rates per quarter: Meta adjusts rates at fixed times (January, April, July, October) and announces new amounts in advance.
• Coexistence: you can use the WhatsApp Business app and the official API on the same number. See Coexistence explained.

Your checklist before 1 October

• Check whether there is a payment method in your Meta account (Meta Business Suite → WhatsApp Manager → Payment).
• Check how many replies you send per number per month. Below 1,000, nothing changes.
• Have your assistant reply in one complete message instead of several short ones. Each message counts separately.

Sources: Meta — Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform · Meta — Business-scoped user IDs · European Commission — interim measures Meta/WhatsApp (IP/26/1276)