How to Get WhatsApp Business API ?
There are several WhatsApp functionalities that can only be achieved by WhatsApp Business API. Here are the steps to achieve that.
Apply to WhatsApp or WhatsApp Solution Providers
To gain access to WhatsApp Business API you have to apply to either WhatsApp directly or through WhatsApp Solution Providers. The chance to gain access from WhatsApp directly is smaller compared to applying through Solution Providers, but if your company is recognized world wide or has good relationship with Facebook then you might have good chance to get acess directly without Solution Providers.
The subsequent steps will assume that you've chosen a WhatsApp Solution Provider.
Provide Required Information
There are several informations you have to provide to your preferred Solution Provider :
- Company name
- Country of company headquarter
- URL
- Industry
- Intended use cases
- Area where you plan to provide the WhatsApp functionality
- Volume predictions (number of messages per day)
- Time to market (estimated time of service launch)
The approval process can take up to 2-3 weeks after providing informations.
Activate Your Phone Number(s)
After your application is approved, you will need to provide further information to activate your phone number. The phone number should have been registered to WhatsApp Business App first.
The informations required are:
- Facebook Business Manager ID
- The phone number of your WhatsApp Business account
- Phone Number Display Name
- The region for your app
When your phone number is activated, you no longer have access to messages via phone app.
All communication is now hosted on a virtual containerized server, and you can manage them from your Solution Provider's dashboard or system. Preparing and integrating the servers usually takes 1-2 days.
You can use several phone numbers, but each phone number will need its own virtual containerized server and will increase costs.
Apply Through Qiscus
If you want to apply for WhatsApp via Qiscus, you can go to this link https://support.qiscus.com/hc/en-us/requests/new and select category "Apply for WhatsApp Business API" as seen on image below
