WhatsApp Commerce Glossary
The vocabulary of running a business on WhatsApp in India — explained in plain English, with India-specific notes for each term. Use this as a reference when you read Meta’s docs, evaluate BSPs, or estimate WhatsApp costs for your business.
Click-to-WhatsApp Ads
Facebook and Instagram ads that open a WhatsApp chat with the advertised business when clicked, instead of a website.
Read full definitionConversation Category
One of four labels Meta assigns to a WhatsApp conversation — Marketing, Utility, Authentication, or Service — that determines its price and rules.
Read full definitionConversation-Based Pricing
Meta's pricing model for the WhatsApp Business API: businesses are charged per 24-hour conversation, with rates that depend on category and country.
Read full definitionGreen Tick (Verified Business)
The green checkmark next to a business name on WhatsApp, signalling Meta has verified the business as authentic and notable enough to qualify for verification.
Read full definitionOpt-in
Explicit, recorded permission from a customer to receive WhatsApp messages from a business — required by Meta's Commerce Policy before any business-initiated conversation.
Read full definitionQuality Rating
A traffic-light score (Green / Yellow / Red) Meta assigns to each WhatsApp Business phone number based on customer block and report rates.
Read full definitionService Window (24-hour)
A 24-hour period after a customer's last inbound message during which the business can reply free of charge with any non-template content.
Read full definitionWhatsApp Business Account (WABA)
A logical container in Meta Business Manager that owns one or more WhatsApp phone numbers and the templates, settings, and billing attached to them.
Read full definitionWhatsApp Business API
A programmatic interface from Meta that lets businesses send and receive WhatsApp messages at scale through a third-party platform.
Read full definitionWhatsApp Business App
The free mobile app from Meta for small businesses to manage customer conversations, with built-in catalog, labels, and quick replies — but no API or broadcast scale.
Read full definitionWhatsApp Business Solution Provider (BSP)
A Meta-authorised third-party platform that resells WhatsApp Business API access to merchants, handling onboarding, billing, and support.
Read full definitionWhatsApp Catalog
A built-in product catalog that businesses can attach to their WhatsApp Business profile, letting customers browse SKUs and add them to a cart inside chat.
Read full definitionWhatsApp Cloud API
Meta's hosted version of the WhatsApp Business API — runs on Meta's infrastructure, eliminates self-hosted servers, and is the default for new accounts since 2022.
Read full definitionWhatsApp Flows
Multi-step interactive forms inside a WhatsApp chat, for collecting structured data like appointments, addresses, or KYC details.
Read full definitionWhatsApp Template Message
A pre-approved message format that a business can send to a customer outside the 24-hour service window — required for any business-initiated conversation.
Read full definition
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