What's the difference between a personal WhatsApp, WhatsApp Business, and WhatsApp Business API?
Personal WhatsApp is the regular WhatsApp app aimed at individual users. It is designed for informal interactions with friends, acquaintances, and/or relatives.
WhatsApp Business adds basic features for small businesses. It can be installed and used in parallel with the personal WhatsApp app. It includes features such as templates, contact tagging, and basic automation like quick responses and out of office messages.
WhatsApp Business API is also directed at businesses, but it also includes the option to connect with other applications to improve businesses' service processes. This is the application Zenvia Conversion is integrated with.
I already have a WhatsApp line for my business, do I need to create a new one to use Zenvia Conversion?
If the line you are using is already associated with a WhatsApp Business account with API access, you will need to create a new line. WhatsApp's policies do not allow a number that was disconnected from the API to be used again with WhatsApp Business or personal WhatsApp.
If the line you are using is associated with a WhatsApp Business or personal WhatsApp account, you should delete this account. As soon as you start using Zenvia Conversion your account will be WhatsApp Business API.
Can I use my number somewhere else if I end my contract with Zenvia Conversion?
Once you start using Zenvia Conversion with the WhatsApp Business API, you will not be able to use this number without Zenvia Conversion. This is because WhatsApp's policies to do allow you to go from a WhatsApp Business API account to a basic Business or personal account.
However, you do have some options for continuing to use your number:
-
Use the number with Zenvia Conversion, using the WhatsApp Business account you already created.
-
Migrate the number for the WhatsApp Business account you created in Zenvia Conversion to another API provider. Zenvia Conversion is not involved in this process, you will need to sign up with another provider that works with portability and request it.
-
Delete the phone number from the WhatsApp Business account or delete the account itself and wait about 90 days. The days start counting from when the number is removed from Facebook, not necessarily from when you delete your account with Zenvia Conversion. In any case, you can go to your Facebook Business manager and delete it yourself.
If you don't complete the process of integration WhatsApp Business API with Zenvia Conversion or delete your account before finishing that step, your account will continue as it is.
In summary, this is how moving your number between the various WhatsApp types works:
Personal WhatsApp to WhatsApp Business API. ✅
WhatsApp Business to WhatsApp Business API. ✅
WhatsApp Business API to another WhatsApp Business API account ✅
WhatsApp Business API to WhatsApp Business. ❌
WhatsApp Business API to personal WhatsApp. ❌
Can I provide the line to use Zenvia Conversion?
If the line has an associated WhatsApp, you must unlink the account and you will lose the information you have there, including conversations and contacts.
To make the association, you will receive a call or an SMS - you can choose the means you prefer during validation - to the line you want to associate with a verification code which you will have to write down.
The validation call will be scheduled with the advisor responsible for your Onboarding. It is necessary that you choose a date and time that does not affect your service, since the validation may take a few hours for the line to be 100%.
Remember that 5 minutes before this call, if you have a WhatsApp associated with this number, you must delete it so you can install it to Zenvia Conversion. If the line is associated with an IVR/Central Exchange, you must disassociate it.
Note:
-
It is important to consider that this is a process that can fail and delay Onboarding, so you must be open to tolerating frustration during the process.
-
Keep in mind that to integrate your own number, until your Business Manager is verified, you will only be allowed to use the unverified trial of the WhatsApp Business API. This implies sending only 10 messages a day to two different phone numbers, that is, two contacts.
-
Besides, the main disadvantage of implementing your own number is that if you unsubscribe from Zenvia Conversion, the number will continue to be associated with a WhatsApp account and you will not be able to associate it with another account.