If a business suddenly stops replying to you on WhatsApp, this might be why. Starting today, Meta is cutting off certain business accounts that haven't set up payments and putting a price tag on messages that used to be free.
Which WhatsApp Business Accounts Are Affected?
The change applies to the WhatsApp Business Platform, which larger companies and their solution providers use to automate customer chats. From October 1, 2026, Meta will charge per message for service and utility messages sent in reply to customers within an open 24-hour window.
Service messages have been free since November 1, 2024, and eligible utility messages since July 1, 2025. Businesses were asked to add a payment method to their accounts by September 30, 2026. WhatsApp Business accounts without one on file will stop having their service messages delivered as soon as billing begins today.
Regular WhatsApp users won't notice a change in their own chats. The update doesn't apply to the standard app or to the free WhatsApp Business app used by small businesses. Messages you send to a business aren't charged either.
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How Much Will WhatsApp Charge Businesses?
In India, Meta's rate card lists service, utility and authentication messages at Rs 0.115 per delivered message before GST. That works out to about Rs 0.136 per message once the 18% GST is added. Marketing messages cost more, at Rs 0.8631 each. Those rates haven't changed, but service replies now fall under the Rs 0.115 rate.
There's a cushion for smaller players, since each business phone number gets its first 1,000 service messages free every month and the allowance resets monthly. Beyond that, every delivered reply gets billed.
A business sending 6,000 support replies in a month, for example, would pay for 5,000 of them, which comes to roughly Rs 575 before tax. A busy support bot sending 50,000 replies would pay about Rs 5,635.
Those amounts are small per message, but they add up fast for companies running high-volume chatbots. Replies generated by Meta Business Agent, the company's AI assistant, may also carry separate token-based charges on top.
For most people, nothing changes. But businesses using automated WhatsApp support could stop replying if they don’t have a payment method set up. So, if a business you usually contact suddenly goes quiet, this could be why.
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