WhatsApp in India starts charging delivered service messages October 1
Technology
Heads up if you run a business on WhatsApp in India: starting October 1, 2026, delivered service messages won't be free anymore.
If a customer reaches out and you reply within 24 hours, those non-template replies will now cost you, so it's time to rethink your messaging budget.
Register payment method by September 30
To keep your chats running smoothly, make sure to register a payment method by September 30, 2026.
Meta will only charge for delivered service messages, not just sent messages, using the same rates as utility and authentication messages.
Also, since August 1, 2026, Meta Business Agent messages have been charged on a token-based model, so things should stay pretty consistent across different message types.