Facebook to Charge You for Messaging?
Facebook Inc. (FB) - Get Report will start focusing on monetizing its WhatsApp messaging service by testing new features to connect businesses with customers they want to reach on the app, WhatsApp said in a blog post Tuesday, Sept. 5.
For now, WhatsApp is "building and testing new tools via a free WhatsApp Business app for small companies and an enterprise solution for bigger companies operating at a larger scale with a global base of customers, like airlines, e-commerce sites, and banks," the company said in the blog post.
"We do intend on charging businesses in the future," WhatsApp COO Matt Idema told The Wall Street Journal, though details of cost structure are not yet clear.
WhatsApp will offer verification for businesses on its platform so customers know a firm is legitimate. The app will also provide services for businesses to connect more efficiently with customers, creating means of communicating flight times, delivery confirmations and other updates, the company said.
WhatsApp has more than 1 billion daily users and came with a hefty $22 billion price tag when Facebook bought it in 2014, though Facebook hasn't done much with the app since the acquisition. In a similar move to this one with WhatsApp, Facebook began monetizing its Messenger app by running ads starting in July.
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