Overview
WhatsApp Business Platform is Meta's API-based solution that lets businesses send and receive messages on WhatsApp at scale. Unlike the WhatsApp Business App (designed for small businesses), the Platform is built for programmatic integration — you connect via an API through a Business Solution Provider (BSP) like Telnyx.
Key Components
WhatsApp Business Account (WABA)
A WABA is the top-level container for your WhatsApp business presence. It holds your phone numbers, message templates, and business profile. Each WABA is linked to a Meta Business Manager account.
Business Solution Provider (BSP)
Telnyx is an official Meta BSP. This means Telnyx provides the API infrastructure to send and receive WhatsApp messages, manage templates, and handle phone number registration — all through the Telnyx API and Portal.
Meta Business Manager
Meta Business Manager is Meta's platform for managing business assets. You need a Meta Business Manager account to create a WABA and register phone numbers. During Telnyx's Embedded Signup flow, you'll connect your Meta Business Manager to authorize Telnyx as your BSP.
How It Works on Telnyx
Sign up — Use the Embedded Signup flow in the Telnyx Portal to create your WABA and register a phone number
Create templates — Submit message templates for Meta's approval via the Telnyx API
Send messages — Use
POST /v2/messages/whatsappto send template or free-form messagesReceive messages — Configure webhooks to receive inbound messages and delivery status updates
Conversation Types
WhatsApp uses a conversation-based billing model. There are four conversation categories:
Marketing — Promotions, offers, informational updates, invitations to respond
Utility — Transaction updates, order confirmations, shipping notifications, account alerts
Authentication — One-time passwords (OTP) and verification codes
Service — Customer-initiated conversations where you respond within a 24-hour window
Marketing, Utility, and Authentication conversations require pre-approved message templates. Service conversations allow free-form messages when the customer messages you first.
Related Resources