WhatsApp unfolds plan to make money from businesses

Facebook-owned WhatsApp mobile messaging service is looking at
ways to monetize the service by charging businesses for connecting
with users.

WhatsApp said Tuesday that it is testing potentially
money-making ways to be used by businesses to communicate with
customers.

A business version of Facebook-owned messaging application
WhatsApp will be free to use at the outset, with plans to charge
big businesses for certain tools in the future, according to the
company.

WhatsApp had yet to work out details of what it would charge,
saying it was focused now on refining features with companies
helping to test the application.

It will be the first move by Facebook to monetize WhatsApp,
which has focused primarily on growth.

“We’ve heard stories of shopkeepers who use WhatsApp to stay in
touch with hundreds of customers from a single smartphone, and from
people who are unsure about whether or not a business on WhatsApp
is authentic,” the company said in a blog post.

“In the coming months, we’ll be testing new features that aim to
solve some of these challenges, and make it easier for people to
communicate with the businesses they want to reach on
WhatsApp.”

Features offered in a business version of WhatsApp will include
verified accounts to assure people they are really dealing with
businesses, and tools for managing text “chats.”

Companies will also be able to create profiles providing
descriptions, addresses, hours of operation and more. “This is just
the beginning of what we want to offer for businesses and our
users, and we are excited for what’s to come,” said WhatsApp, which
boasts more than a billion daily users.

Facebook acquired WhatsApp in 2014 in a deal valued at some $19
billion in stock and cash at the time.

Facebook-owned WhatsApp mobile messaging service is looking at
ways to monetize the service by charging businesses for connecting
with users.

WhatsApp said Tuesday that it is testing potentially
money-making ways to be used by businesses to communicate with
customers.

A business version of Facebook-owned messaging application
WhatsApp will be free to use at the outset, with plans to charge
big businesses for certain tools in the future, according to the
company.

WhatsApp had yet to work out details of what it would charge,
saying it was focused now on refining features with companies
helping to test the application.

It will be the first move by Facebook to monetize WhatsApp,
which has focused primarily on growth.

“We’ve heard stories of shopkeepers who use WhatsApp to stay in
touch with hundreds of customers from a single smartphone, and from
people who are unsure about whether or not a business on WhatsApp
is authentic,” the company said in a blog post.

“In the coming months, we’ll be testing new features that aim to
solve some of these challenges, and make it easier for people to
communicate with the businesses they want to reach on
WhatsApp.”

Features offered in a business version of WhatsApp will include
verified accounts to assure people they are really dealing with
businesses, and tools for managing text “chats.”

Companies will also be able to create profiles providing
descriptions, addresses, hours of operation and more. “This is just
the beginning of what we want to offer for businesses and our
users, and we are excited for what’s to come,” said WhatsApp, which
boasts more than a billion daily users.

Facebook acquired WhatsApp in 2014 in a deal valued at some $19
billion in stock and cash at the time.