Skip to main content

WhatsApp: Meta charges

A WhatsApp message sent through SendSeven can cost money in two places:

Who chargesWhatWhere you pay
MetaMeta's own WhatsApp fee for templates and, beyond a free allowance, for service repliesDirectly to Meta, through the payment method on your WhatsApp Business account. Never on your SendSeven invoice
SendSevenYour plan's per-message feeYour plan's included message pool, then your monthly SendSeven invoice

You pay both. This page explains Meta's part, what needs a payment method at Meta, and how the two relate.

Who bills Meta's fees​

SendSeven connects your number to the WhatsApp Business Platform as a technology provider. SendSeven does not pay Meta's fees for you and does not share a line of credit with your account. Meta charges every paid message to the WhatsApp Business account (in Meta's newer account model: the Messaging account) that sent it, and that account needs your own payment method on file at Meta.

When you connect a number in SendSeven, Meta creates a Messaging account for SendSeven or, for a Coexistence number, uses the account of your WhatsApp Business app. Neither comes with a payment method. Add one after connecting, even if another provider's account on the same number already has one: payment methods do not carry over between Messaging accounts. See Add a payment method at Meta.

Meta's pricing model​

Meta charges per delivered message, not per conversation (since July 1, 2025). A message that is sent but never delivered is not charged by Meta. The rules below are Meta's as of October 1, 2026. Meta changes them from time to time, so check Meta's pricing documentation for the current rules and the WhatsApp rate cards for prices per country. SendSeven does not publish Meta's prices.

MessageMeta charges
Marketing templateYes, per delivered message, by recipient country
Utility templateYes, by recipient country. Since October 1, 2026 also when sent inside an open 24-hour customer service window
Authentication templateYes, by recipient country
Service message (free-form, non-template reply inside the 24-hour customer service window)1,000 free per business phone number per month. From the 1,001st service message in a month, Meta charges each delivered one. The allowance resets every month and does not roll over
Marketing, utility, authentication and service messages inside a free entry point window. The window opens when you reply within 24 hours to a customer who wrote in from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad in the WhatsApp app on Android or iOS, and it can stay open for up to 7 daysNo. Meta Business Agent messages are still charged
Messages your customers send youNo

The free entry point window only changes what Meta charges. SendSeven sends free-form messages only inside the 24-hour customer service window, also in conversations that started from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad.

Template categories are set when Meta approves a template. See Understanding Templates and 24-Hour Messaging Window.

A payment method at Meta is required​

What works without one​

ActionWithout a payment method at Meta
Receiving messagesWorks
Replying inside the 24-hour window (service messages)Works for the first 1,000 per number per month. After that Meta does not deliver them
Sending templates of any category (marketing, utility, authentication)Fails
WhatsApp campaignsCampaign messages are templates, so every recipient fails
Messages inside a free entry point windowNot charged by Meta, so they can go out. Free-form messages still need the 24-hour customer service window: after 24 hours, use a template
Creating templates and submitting them for reviewWorks. Review does not depend on the payment method, but an approved template can't be delivered until one is added
Messaging limit (how many new customers you can start a conversation with per day)Not affected directly. It is used and raised only by business-initiated messages, which are templates, so without a payment method you can't make use of it

In practice: without a payment method you can answer customers who write to you, up to 1,000 replies per number per month, and nothing more.

How a missing payment method shows up in the API​

Meta reports a missing or unusable payment method as error 131042 ("Business eligibility payment issue"). Usually Meta first accepts the message and rejects it a moment later. Your send call therefore succeeds, and the failure arrives afterwards:

  1. The send call succeeds: POST /messages answers 201, and POST /whatsapp-templates/{template_id_or_name}/send answers 200 with "success": true.

  2. Moments later the message moves to status: "failed". GET /api/v1/messages/{message_id} then returns:

    {
      "id": "0b7c3e9a-4f1d-4a8e-9c2b-5d6e7f8a9b0c",
      "platform": "whatsapp",
      "direction": "outbound",
      "status": "failed",
      "error_code": "131042",
      "error_message": "Business eligibility payment issue: ..."
    }

  3. The message.failed webhook fires. The text of the failure is in data.error, and Meta's original error objects are in data.message.meta.last_failed_error.errors[], where code is 131042:

    {
      "type": "message.failed",
      "data": {
        "message": {
          "id": "0b7c3e9a-4f1d-4a8e-9c2b-5d6e7f8a9b0c",
          "platform": "whatsapp",
          "status": "failed",
          "meta": {
            "last_failed_error": {
              "captured_at": "2026-10-23T09:14:02+00:00",
              "errors": [
                {"code": 131042, "title": "Business eligibility payment issue", "message": "..."}
              ]
            }
          }
        },
        "error": "Business eligibility payment issue: ..."
      }
    }

    In campaigns, the recipient ends as failed and the campaign.message.failed webhook fires with the same reason.

When Meta rejects a template immediately instead, POST /whatsapp-templates/{template_id_or_name}/send answers 400 with the code in detail (see Send a Template Message):

{
  "detail": {
    "message": "Business eligibility payment issue: ...",
    "error_code": 131042,
    "error_details": "..."
  }
}

131042 is permanent: SendSeven does not retry it. Add the payment method, then send again. Besides a missing card, Meta lists a few other causes for 131042 (for example an expired card or a missing currency or time zone on the account); see Meta's error codes. The WhatsApp troubleshooting guide covers the numbers that also run with another provider.

Add a payment method at Meta​

You do this in Meta, not in SendSeven. You need permission to manage billing (finance) for your business portfolio in Meta.

  1. Open Meta Business Suite and go to Settings.
  2. Open the WhatsApp accounts (or Messaging accounts) tab and select the account used by SendSeven: the one created when you connected the number, or, for a Coexistence number, your WhatsApp Business app's account.
  3. Add a credit or debit card in its payment settings (Meta's Billing Hub). Meta does not accept every card type, for example prepaid cards.
  4. Send the failed messages again.

Menu names in Meta change over time. Meta's help page About billing for your WhatsApp Business account has the current steps. Meta's charges and invoices are visible there too.

How this relates to your SendSeven plan​

Meta's fee and SendSeven's fee are independent, and a WhatsApp message counts on your SendSeven plan whether or not Meta charges for it:

  • Every outbound WhatsApp message that SendSeven sends and that reaches sent, delivered or read counts as one SendSeven message: templates, service replies, bot and flow replies and campaign messages alike. It uses your plan's included message pool first, and anything beyond the pool is billed at your plan's message price on your SendSeven invoice.
  • A reply that is free at Meta (inside the 1,000 free service messages or a free entry point window) still counts as a SendSeven message.
  • A message that ends as failed, for example because of 131042, is not billed by SendSeven, and not by Meta either.
  • Messages your customers send you are free on both sides.
  • Reactions are free on SendSeven.
  • The campaign cost estimate (GET /campaigns/{id}/estimate-cost, field payable_overage_eur) covers SendSeven's fee only. It does not include Meta's template fees.

Your plan's pool and prices: see Billing overview and sendseven.com/pricing.

Coexistence numbers​

A Coexistence number is used in the WhatsApp Business app and in SendSeven at the same time:

  • Messages sent from the WhatsApp Business app are free at Meta and are not billed by SendSeven. They show up in SendSeven for context only.
  • Messages sent through SendSeven are billed exactly like on any other number: Meta's per-message pricing above (charged to the account of your WhatsApp Business app, which needs a payment method), plus one SendSeven message each.
  • Meta's 1,000 free service messages apply per phone number, as on any other number.

Next steps​