Embedded signup (managed by Meta)

The WhatsApp embedded signup process simplifies the registration of a WhatsApp sender for your business needs. This user-friendly, self-service feature allows you to quickly set up your WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) directly from our web interface. Note that this process is managed by Meta, however if you encounter any issues, contact our Support.

To use WhatsApp for business communication over Infobip solutions, you must go through the official approval process.

1. Complete the embedded signup process. You will now become a sandbox user.

2. Submit a business verification request (Optional). This step is mandatory to become either an approved sender or a verified sender. Otherwise, you will become an approved sender with limited access.

3. WhatsApp reviews your account and display name. You can now use your account for business purposes.

4. To become a verified sender, request an official WhatsApp business account (Optional).

Prerequisites

Phone number

To use WhatsApp Business API, your phone number must meet the following criteria:

• Format: The number must be in the E.164 international format (opens in a new tab) and be reachable internationally.
• Verification: The number must be active during the verification process. To confirm ownership, you will receive a two-factor authentification (2FA) code via SMS or voice call.
• Restrictions:
  • No short codes (opens in a new tab).
  • No toll-free numbers or numbers under IVR systems. You cannot use the embedded signup process to register toll-free numbers or numbers under IVR. Contact your Infobip Account Manager or contact Support. If your phone number is under IVR, Infobip will request the Meta team for two numbers that you should safelist to perform 2FA.
  • The number must not have been previously used with the WhatsApp Business API.
• ISV, SI, and third-party: If you onboard or integrate over an independent software vendor (ISV), system integrator (SI), or a third-party business, each ISV/SI/third-party business must go through the WhatsApp ISV approval process. If approved, ISV/SI/third-party business needs to sign and comply with WhatsApp terms. Contact your Infobip Account Manager for guidance.
• Organizations with government affiliation: If your organization has a government affiliation, you need additional approval from WhatsApp. Contact your Infobip Account Manager for guidance.
• Existing registrations: To use a phone number that is already registered in the Android, iPhone, or Business Application versions of WhatsApp, you must delete the WhatsApp account associated with that phone number to use it for a business account.

Display name

Display names must follow the guidelines below:

• Compliance with policies

  • Policy adherence: A display name must comply with WhatsApp Commerce and Business policies.
    • Accepted: "Greengrass Health Shop"
    • Not accepted: "Greengrass Health Shop - Tobacco and Vaping"

• Accurate representation of your business

  • Representation: a display name should represent:
    • A business or its service, product or department.
    • A test account or demo account that maintains an association with the business
    • Example: "Fresh Produce Ltd. Test"
  • Avoid:
    • Generic terms (for example, "Fashion")
    • Generic geographic locations (for example, "New York")
    • Terms implying verification (for example, "Verified", "Official")
    • Names of Meta products (for example, "Facebook", "WhatsApp", "Messenger")

• Consistency with external branding

  • Brand consistency: A display name must match external sources, for example a company's website or marketing material. Examples for a product line named "Fresh Produce Cold Pressed Juices":
    • Accepted: "Fresh Produce Cold Pressed Juices" (as branded on your website)
    • Not accepted:
      • "FP Cold Pressed Juices" (there must be no inconsistencies when using abbreviations)
      • "Fresh Produce Juices" (do not remove parts of the name)

• Clear relationship with your business

  • Clear association: The display name must clearly relate to your business's legal name.
    • Accepted: Legal name of a charity mention on a non-profit organization's website.
    • Not accepted: Legal name of a charity not mentioned on any external websites.
  • If the relationship between your company and brand is not obvious, clarify using "by [company name]".
    • Accepted: "Fruit Snacks by Fresh Produce"
    • Not accepted: "Fruit Snacks" (association not mentioned on external websites)
  • For agencies, distributors, partners or parent companies, ensure the relationship is evident on both business websites.

These rules do not apply if a business or an organization already brands this way.

The visibility of the display name depends on the sender location:

• Senders in Indonesia, Mexico, or Columbia: Your display name is visible to the end user.
• Senders in other regions: If you have a verified sender, your display name is visible to the end user. If you have either an approved sender or an approved sender with limited access, the end user can view your display name only in the contact information section of WhatsApp.

Sender types

Sender types are classified based on the stage of the WhatsApp approval process. Different sender types have different capabilities and limitations.

Feature	Sandbox sender	Approved sender with limited access	Approved sender	Verified sender (Optional)
Number of notifications	Limited	Limited	Unlimited*	Unlimited*
Number of senders (phone numbers)	Limited	Limited	Unlimited	Unlimited
Number of responses to inbound communication	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited
WABA account connected?	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Validity	30 days	N/A	N/A	N/A
Display name	Yes**	Yes**	Yes**	Yes**
Verified badge	No	No	No	No
* depends on messaging tier** depends on sender location. Refer to the Display name section.

Sandbox sender

You have completed the embedded signup and are waiting for WhatsApp approval (WhatsApp account and display name approval).

Sandbox senders can send messages but with the following limitations:

• Notifications: Send up to 10 templates messages to up to 2 phone numbers in a rolling 24-hour period
• Customer care: 10 senders and unlimited messages

These limits apply until the WhatsApp approval is complete.

In addition to these limits, only the first number that is added to each WhatsApp business account through the embedded signup process is eligible for the sandbox experience.

For each additional number that is added to the WhatsApp business account, the following conditions apply:

• If you have not completed business verification: You can send messages on each additional sender only after it has received WhatsApp approval.
• If you have completed business verification: You can send messages on each additional sender immediately. You can have up to 250 conversations per day on each of these senders.

A few pre-selected message templates will be added to the sandbox environment for you to test sending notifications.

The unverified state lasts for 30 days or until you become either an approved sender or an approved sender with limited access. If the WhatsApp approval is not complete within 30 days, you will no longer be able to send messages.

Approved sender with limited access

You have completed the embedded signup and received WhatsApp approval (WhatsApp account and display name approval). But you have not completed business verification, which is an optional process.

You can use your account for business purposes which include sending messages with the following limitations:

• Notifications: Send templated messages to up to 50 end users in a rolling 24-hour period
• Customer care: Unlimited messages
• Senders: Register up to two unverified WhatsApp senders. You can assign the senders either to the same WhatsApp business account (WABA) or split the senders between two WABAs.

Approved sender

You have completed the embedded signup, received WhatsApp approval (WhatsApp account and display name approval), and completed business verification. But you have not completed sender verification, which is an optional process.

You can use your account for business purposes. Standard WhatsApp messaging limitations(opens in a new tab) apply.

Approved senders have the following features:

• Notifications: The number of templated messages you can send to end users depends on the messaging tier.
• Customer care: Unlimited messages
• Senders: Register an unlimited number of WhatsApp senders. You can assign the senders either to the same WhatsApp business account (WABA) or split the senders between multiple WABAs.

Verified sender (Official account)

You have completed the embedded signup, received WhatsApp approval (WhatsApp account and display name approval), completed business verification, and completed sender verification.

Verified senders get a verified badge next to their company name in WhatsApp. Being a verified sender gives end users confidence in your brand by letting them know that Meta has made sure that your company is legitimate.

If your business is in Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Mexico, or the United Kingdom, end users can search for your official business account.

WhatsApp Business profile

WhatsApp business profiles are similar to regular WhatsApp profiles. Business profiles represent your company, whereas a regular profile represents an individual.

You must have a WhatsApp business profile to use WhatsApp for business communication. End users can view the following information about your WhatsApp business profile:

• Sender display name
• Business category
• Business description

WhatsApp sender registration process

Let's connect WhatsApp with Infobip!

To register your own WhatsApp Business Account and WhatsApp sender, start by logging into Infobip (opens in a new tab).

Navigate to Channels and Numbers > Channels and select WhatsApp. In the Overview tab, select Register sender. You will then see several options available.

Buy a new number (Recommended)

Buying a pre-verified WhatsApp number is recommended because the verification process is completed before the embedded signup. This allows you to start messaging quickly without manual verification during the signup process.

Browse through the list of available numbers from different countries and choose the one that suits your needs. Then select Buy number and complete the purchasing steps to acquire the number.

The number will undergo a verification process, which may take up to several minutes. Once verification is complete, you can log in with your Facebook account and start the registration process.

If there is no number available for your country

• Choose a number from another country (for example, from United Kingdom) - there are no limits on sending WhatsApp messages between countries.
• Contact Support to order a number from your country.
• Get a number outside of Infobip and restart the WhatsApp sender registration process again by selecting the Connect a number you have outside of Infobip option.

Connect a number you have outside of Infobip

If you already have a new number or one connected to a personal WhatsApp account or WhatsApp Business App, select this option and proceed with the signup process.

To delete your account, follow these steps:

• Open WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business App on your phone.
• Go to Settings > Account and select Delete my account.
• Complete the process to delete your WhatsApp account. Note that it may take up to 3 minutes for the disconnected number to become available and during that time messages sent to this number will be queued.

Connect an Infobip number

If you already have a number you bought from Infobip that you use for our other solutions, and want to use it with WhatApp, choose this option.

Select your number from the dropdown, and select Continue. Note that the number will undergo verification before the embedded signup can start, which may take up to several minutes.

I have a WhatsApp number that is in use with another provider

If you want to migrate your number from another Business Service Provide (BSP) to Infobip, choose this option to contact our support.

Complete the signup process

1a) If you a registering using a number outside of Infobip:

Select I have read and understand the information above and then Login with Facebook.

1b) If you a registering using a new number, an Infobip number or you are switching from another solution provider (BSP):

After your number gets successfully verified, select the Login with Facebook option.

2) Enter your Facebook email address or phone number, review the permissions you will grant Infobip, and select Get started.

3) Enter your business information:

• Provide details such as business portfolio, name, email, website or profile page, and country.
• You can select an existing business portfolio or create a new one to connect with your phone number.

4) Create or select your WhatsApp business account (WABA) and your WhatsApp business profile.

• If you are creating a WhatsApp business profile, enter your WhatsApp business account name and display name.
• Select a category describing your business. Adhere to the rules a display name must follow.
• Optionally, add details such as timezone, business description, and website.
• If your number was pre-verified (you registered using a new number or an Infobip number), you can either create a new WhatsApp Business profile or choose the already verified BSP provided number.

5a) If you a registering using a number outside of Infobip:

• Enter the phone number you will use to communicate with your audience on WhatsApp.
• Verify it by entering the 6-digit code sent to that number.

5a) If you a registering using a new number, an Infobip number or you are switching from another solution provider (BSP):

• Select your WhatsApp Business Account name and enter you WhatsApp Business display name. Be sure to follow display name guidelines.
• Select Finish.

By following these steps, you can successfully sign up and register your WhatsApp sender on Infobip.

Voice number registration for WhatsApp

When registering a Voice number for WhatsApp, the process differs slightly from registering SMS numbers. Since Voice numbers cannot be easily pre-verified before being assigned to an account, we have implemented a workaround to simplify verification and activation. For Voice numbers, PSTN (opens in a new tab) forwarding is used, allowing you to receive the OTP (one-time password) on your phone during the WhatsApp sender registration. This ensures timely and smooth registration.

To register a Voice number for WhatsApp, follow the steps below.

• In the web interface (opens in a new tab), go to Channels and Numbers > Channels > WhatsApp and select Register sender.

• Choose Buy a new number or Connect an Infobip number and select the Voice number you want to use. (Note that this registration flow is available only for these two options.)

• Take note of the country code and number for the upcoming steps (you can copy the number later).

  

• You will get a notification indicating that an OTP will be sent to the number associated with your account. You will use that OTP to complete the number verification step during the WhatsApp sender registration. Select Continue.

  

• Next, copy the number shown (remember to take note of the country code), and select Login with Facebook to continue the WhatsApp sender registration.

  

• During the sender registration process, on the Add a phone number for WhatsApp step, manually select the country code and paste the copied number (without the country code). Choose Phone call to receive the OTP through a voice call, as Meta may not be able to deliver the code using other methods successfully.

  

• Enter the OTP code you received on your phone to verify and complete the registration.

(Optional) Business verification

To become an approved sender or a verified sender, you must go through the business verification process. Skip this step if you want to become an approved sender with limited access or if WhatsApp has already verified your business.

Business verification is a way to demonstrate to WhatsApp that your business is legitimate. Obtaining business verification offers the following features:

• Scaling business-initiated conversations:
  • Engage up to 1,000 unique customers within a rolling 24-hour period and gradually scale this capacity to 10,000, 100,000 or even unlimited unique customers per phone number.
• Respond to unlimited customer-initiated conversations.
• Enhance your business presence:
  • Submit a request to become an Official Business Account to increase your business credibility and visibility.
• Register additional phone numbers.

You can submit a request for business verification at any time, but it is recommended that you submit the request after you complete the embedded signup.

Documents for business verification

The following tables state example documents which are acceptable or not for business verification:

• Legal business verification

Acceptable document	Unacceptable document
Business license Certificate of formation or incorporation Business tax or VAT registration certificates	Utility bill (phone, electricity, and so on) Invoices Purchase orders Self-completed declaration about the company Tax returns filed by you or your company Bank statement Printout of website Other documents such as company flyers, letterhead, etc.

• Business address and phone number verification

Acceptable document	Unacceptable document
Utility bill (phone, electricity, and so on) Bank statement Business license Certificate of formation or incorporation Business tax or VAT registration certificate	Invoices Purchase orders Self-completed declaration about the company Tax returns filed by you or your company Printout of website Other documents such as company flyers, letterhead, etc.

Receive WhatsApp approval

To access the WhatsApp Business API, you must meet WhatsApp's requirements. WhatsApp will verify the account and display name, and verify whether your business complies with their Business Policy (opens in a new tab) and Commerce Policy (opens in a new tab). If your business is compliant, WhatsApp will approve your business account.

Display name rejection

You can check the status of the display name approval in Facebook Business Manager (opens in a new tab). You can also view the reason for rejection for a rejected display name. If your display name is rejected, contact your Infobip Account Manager and provide a new name that follows the guidelines.

(Optional) Request Official Account (Verified Sender)

Skip this section if you do not want to become a verified sender.

Verified senders get a verified badge next to their company name in WhatsApp. Being a verified sender gives customers confidence in your brand by letting them know that Meta has made sure that your company is legitimate.

The sender verification process for verified senders is an additional level of WhatsApp approval. It is different from the standard WhatsApp approval.

To get the verified sender status, Meta must verify your business beforehand. If your business is already verified, you can request an official account (opens in a new tab) through WhatsApp Account Manager.