MoEngage supports sending WhatsApp messages using WhatsApp Service Providers or WhatsApp Business Solution Providers (BSP).

The following are the prerequisites to sending a WhatsApp Message:

1. 1. 1. Create an account with the supported BSPs
      2. Get WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) approved
      3. Get a business phone number

Create an account

To send WhatsApp messages via MoEngage, you must have an account with the BSP. If you do not have an existing BSP account, reach out to your MoEngage account manager or send an email to support@moengage.com. 

Get WABA Approved

WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) lets businesses communicate directly with their customers via APIs (used by BSPs and MoEngage). The first step is to create a business account and submit it to Facebook for approval. For more information, refer to Getting Started.

Get a Phone Number

All WhatsApp Business Platform accounts rely on a valid phone number. To send messages, you need to register the phone number you want to use. For more information about how to pick a phone number and add it to your WhatsApp Business Account (WABA), refer to Phone Number.

Your business must use a valid phone number that meets the following criteria:

• • • Has a country and area code, such as landline and cell numbers
    • Is owned by you
    • Is able to receive voice calls or SMS
    • Is not a shortcode

Whitelisting/Approval of Templates

WhatsApp message templates allow businesses to use pre-created and pre-approved templates to send structured messages to customers who have opted in to receive notifications. Messages can include appointment reminders, shipping information, issue resolution, or payment updates. For more information, refer to the List of categories supported by WhatsApp.

Businesses need to submit templates to WhatsApp directly or via WhatsApp Service Provider or BSP (For example, Infobip, Gupshup, Twilio, Yellow.ai, and so on) for review before they can use the templates. WhatsApp reviews Message templates to ensure they do not violate WhatsApp policies. You can submit templates in two ways:

1. 1. 1. Create message templates in the WhatsApp Manager, which is part of your WhatsApp Account in the Facebook Business Manager. Once approved, your business will have its own namespace where the message templates reside.
      2. Create and submit message templates on the dashboard of the WhatsApp Service Provider/BSP for approval.  Contact your WhatsApp Service Provider if you need more information or help.

Update User Opt-in Data

WhatsApp messages are recommended to be sent only to users who have opted-in to receive WhatsApp messages from your brand. The opt-in data should be updated to MoEngage and the BSP.

Updating Opt-in preferences in MoEngage

MoEngage provides a standard attribute called WhatsApp Subscription Status (moe_wa_subscription), where you can update your user's opt-in preferences.

You can do it in either of the following ways :

• • • User Import/Update feature that MoEngage provides under Segment->Import Users on the MoEngage Dashboard. The attribute that needs to be updated is WhatsApp Subscription Status. For more information, refer to import user data.
    • User Update APIs to send it directly from your Apps or Backend systems to MoEngage. The attribute you should update using the API is moe_wa_subscription.
    • For more information, refer to the API Documentation.

The expected values for the moe_wa_subscription field are described in the table below.

Final Checklist

• • • Get an account with BSP
    • Get your WABA and WhatsApp Business Phone Number
    • Get your templates approved/whitelisted
    • Get users' opt-in preferences updated in MoEngage and your BSP

After you have completed these steps, configure WhatsApp in MoEngage.