Who pays for WhatsApp template messages

Your WhatsApp number belongs to your own WhatsApp Business account with Meta. Meta charges for the template messages you send from it, and bills those charges directly to the payment method on that account.

What Meta bills you for

• Campaign messages, one charge per message delivered.
• Automated WhatsApp messages, such as booking confirmations and reminders.
• Templates sent from a conversation after the 24-hour window has closed.

These charges do not use your tkana credits, and they never appear on your tkana invoice. Replies inside the 24-hour window, when a customer has written to you recently, are not template messages.

What tkana credits cover

Your tkana credits pay for your AI agent’s work, such as the replies it writes in conversations. Adding tkana credits does not pay Meta, and it does not fix a Meta payment problem.

How much Meta charges

Meta sets its own prices and bills in its own currency. The price depends mainly on:

• The template’s category. Marketing messages usually cost more than Utility messages. See Marketing, Utility, and Authentication templates.
• The customer’s country, based on their phone number.

For current prices, see Meta’s WhatsApp pricing page, and check your spending in WhatsApp Manager under your account’s billing settings.

Add a payment method on Meta

Before your first campaign, make sure your WhatsApp Business account has a valid payment method. This video walks through it, and the steps are also written out in Add your payment card on Meta.

The video is in Arabic.

1. Open WhatsApp Manager on Meta’s side and select your business account.

2. Go to the account’s billing or payment settings.

3. Add a card, or check that the card on file is valid and not expired.

This has to be done by someone on your team with access to your Meta business account’s billing settings.

If a payment fails

When Meta cannot charge your card, it blocks the messages your business starts, including campaigns and automated messages. The WhatsApp Health card on the Marketing page then shows Review your WhatsApp payment method.

To fix it, update the payment method in WhatsApp Manager and follow Meta’s instructions. Then come back to the WhatsApp Health card and click Check again. The warning clears once Meta no longer reports the payment problem.

Caution

While the payment problem lasts, campaigns you send and automated messages such as booking reminders may not reach customers. Fix the payment method before you launch a campaign.

Related

• Campaigns, templates, and automated messages explained
• Campaign best practices