WhatsApp to Launch a Dedicated App for Businesses

After years of staying ad free, WhatsApp is finally going to monetize its users. The Facebook owned company is also going to launch a separate business app as well.

The business version of WhatsApp will be free initially. WhatsApp’s Chief Operating Officer Matt Idema says,

We do intend on charging businesses in the future. We don’t have the details of monetization figured out.

Made for Businesses From The Ground Up

WhatsApp is used by businesses every day with shopkeepers connecting with several customers on their phones. The business app will be designed specifically with small and medium sized enterprises in mind while also catering for the larger businesses with customers all over the world, like airlines, banks etc.

Your conversations with businesses will be fully encrypted and you can also block them if you want to. If you don’t have their number saved in your phone, you will see the name they register themselves with.

Additionally, businesses will only be able to message or contact you if you send them a message first.

Currently the app is in testing phase and will not be made available any time soon.

Another Project

People are sometimes reluctant on contacting a business on WhatsApp, questioning their reliability.

The company also announced a new closed pilot project, which aims to solve this problem by introducing verified business accounts. Just like Facebook, the verified accounts will have a check mark next to them (green on WhatsApp):

If you see a green badge  next to a contact’s name, it means that WhatsApp has verified that the phone number of this contact belongs to a business account.

This will help businesses achieve the recognition they need while also giving regular Joe’s and Jane’s peace of mind.

Via Tech Crunch

 

A techie, gamer, and Senior Editor at ProPakistani.



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