What the official WhatsApp API is
The official WhatsApp Business API is Meta's approved way for a business to use WhatsApp through a system. It runs on Meta's own cloud and lets you message many customers, turn on an AI support agent and have several people answering the same number.
The WhatsApp Business phone app still exists and is great for one person answering at a time. The API comes in when support grows: a team, automation, AI, broadcasts with reports and integrations with other systems.
What you need
- A Facebook account with access to your company's business portfolio at Meta. If you don't have one, you can create it while connecting.
- A number that can receive an SMS or call for the confirmation code.
- A payment method on your Meta account, for the messages Meta charges for.
- Contacts who gave permission (opt-in) to receive messages from your business.
How to connect in InvestCRM
- Create your free InvestCRM account and confirm your email.
- In Connections, choose to connect a new number or WhatsApp Business Coexistence mode (for the number already on the phone app).
- In the Meta window, sign in with Facebook, pick or create the business portfolio and WhatsApp account, and enter the number.
- Confirm the number with the code (new number) or scan the QR code with the WhatsApp Business app (Coexistence).
- Done: the number shows as connected and conversations arrive in the InvestCRM inbox.
No app to create and no Meta technical settings to touch: InvestCRM is a Tech Provider and handles that part.
Message templates and categories
To message someone first, or after 24 hours without a reply, the message must be a Meta-approved template. Each template has a category, and the category sets the price:
- Marketing: offers, invitations, news, abandoned carts.
- Utility: something the customer asked for or agreed to, such as an order confirmation, appointment reminder or payment notice. No offers.
- Authentication: access and confirmation codes, using Meta's standard text.
If the text does not match the chosen category, Meta may change the category (and the price). InvestCRM tells you when that happens.
Want ready-to-copy examples? See the message templates
The 24-hour window
When a customer messages you, a 24-hour window opens. Inside it you reply with regular messages: text, photos, audio, documents and buttons. Each new customer message restarts the clock. Outside the window, you can only send an approved template.
What Meta charges
Meta charges per delivered message, priced by category (marketing is the most expensive) and by the recipient's country. Since October 1, 2026, regular replies inside the 24-hour window (the service category) are charged too, after 1,000 free per number each month. Messages customers send you are free.
What each category costs in BRL: see the full rate card and a worked example
Work out your month: open the cost calculator
Source: Meta's pricing page
Card declined at Meta: what stops and when
Meta bills messages to the payment method on your WhatsApp account at Meta. When the charge does not go through (a card with no funds, for example), Meta refuses to send with error 131042, which applies to the whole account, not to a single contact. Meta also lists: a payment account not linked to the WhatsApp account, a credit line over its limit or not activated, and a time zone or currency not set.
- Marketing, utility and authentication templates stop, since Meta charges every delivery. That includes broadcasts and any automation or sequence that sends a template.
- Support replies inside the 24-hour window stop after the 1,000 free ones of the month: since October 1, 2026, without a payment method, Meta delivers only those 1,000 per number and does not deliver the rest.
What InvestCRM does: on the first 131042 error, it pauses the running broadcasts on that number, so nobody in the queue turns into a failure, and shows a notice in the dashboard. Once the payment is fixed at Meta, click Resume: the system sends 1 test message, at most 1 every 10 minutes. If it goes through, the notice disappears and sending returns to its normal pace; if Meta refuses again, the broadcast pauses again.
Source: Meta's error codes (131042)
Number quality and sending limits
Meta tracks how people react to your messages. Many blocks and reports lower your number quality and can lead to restrictions. Meta also limits how many different people you reach with templates per day, and that limit goes up as you send with good quality.
In InvestCRM you confirm your audience opted in before every broadcast, anyone who asks to leave is removed right away and your number rating stays in view so you can act before a problem.
Coexistence: the app and the API on one number
With Coexistence, the number stays on the WhatsApp Business phone app and also joins the API. You keep answering on your phone and the conversations show up in InvestCRM. While connecting, you can bring your contacts and up to 6 months of one-to-one chats.
- Sending is capped at 20 messages per second.
- The app loses disappearing messages, view once, live location and broadcast lists (existing ones become read-only).
- Linked devices are disconnected.
That is why Coexistence is for customer service. For large broadcasts, an API-only number works best.
Want the full picture? Read the article on Coexistence
Common errors and what to do
| Code | What it is | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 131042 | A problem with the payment method or billing setup of the WhatsApp account at Meta. | Fix the payment at Meta and resume the broadcast: InvestCRM sends 1 test message before returning to the normal pace. |
| 131047 | More than 24 hours have passed since the customer's last message. | Restart the conversation with an approved template. |
| 131026 | The message could not be delivered. | Check that the number is right and has WhatsApp; the person's app may be outdated. |
| 131049 | Meta held back a marketing message so the person is not overloaded. | Wait at least 24 hours before sending that person another marketing template (Meta's guidance). |
| 131051 | The customer sent a message type the API cannot read. | Nothing to do on your side; ask them to send it as text if needed. |
Source: Meta's error codes