WhatsApp brings Meta Verified, customized messages to small businesses in India

WhatsApp is now letting small businesses in India sign up for a Meta Verified badge and giving them the ability to send customized messages to customers.

India is home to more than 65 million small and medium-sized businesses, but only about 5 million of them sell online, according to a joint report by Meta and Bain & Company released in May. The company is trying to make the most of this market opportunity by promoting WhatsApp Business, since the app is used by the vast majority of Indians for messaging, and has emerged as a favored avenue for small businesses to connect with customers.

The company said Meta Verified subscriptions give WhatsApp Business users access to features like the ability to create custom WhatsApp pages that are discoverable on the web, multi-device support, and multiple employee accounts.

Meta Verified for WhatsApp Business starts at around $8 (about ₹639) a month for Indian users.

In addition to Meta Verified, small businesses using WhatsApp Business can now schedule and send customized messages — think appointment reminders, birthday wishes, or updates on sales — to customers for less than a rupee per message. Businesses can also include customer's names and add customizable call-to-action buttons.

Last September, Meta launched its verification program for business accounts on Instagram and Facebook.

WhatsApp is also embarking on an initiative called "WhatsApp Business Yatra" (a WhatsApp Business tour in Hindi), which the company will use to visit and promote the service in tier-2 and tier-3 cities in the country, aiming to provide in-person training to small businesses.

"As part of this initiative, we will train small businesses in setting up their WhatsApp Business accounts, creating catalogs, educating them on how to set up ads that click to WhatsApp, and much more. We will also build a resource center on our website, which will act as a quick-access tutorial center for these businesses," the company said.