5 ms·

Verified business accounts

51 points by artsandsci 9y ago

philliphaydon 9y ago
Is whatsapp making a snail paced attempt at becoming WeChat of the west?
- mullen 9y ago
  Never going to happen at this pace. No API No Money Transfer (Well, not yet)
  - _jgdh 9y ago
    Money Transfer is going to become a feature in India. They're using a payments API that works with all bank existing accounts, so anyone using whatsapp in India could transfer money to and from anyone who's set up their account for UPI. Source - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/whatsapp-gets-nod-for-upi-payments/articleshow/59537161.cms http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/w...
- kinkrtyavimoodh 9y ago
  WeChat of anything not China would be a better way of putting it. One of their biggest consumer bases is India and there it may actually manage to become like WeChat.
- cosinetau 9y ago
  I think Facebook makes experimental developments to Messenger first, and then it develops what works really well on WhatsApp after that. But I don't use WhatsApp, and don't really see the fine details of their work, so I could totally have it assbackwards.
jeffmould 9y ago
As someone who uses WhatsApp to communicate with friends and family overseas, I could potentially see that as a nice support channel for businesses. However, there are several problems I see. First, you can't have more than one account linked to the app on your phone. Second (and correct me if I am wrong), there is no way to create an account associated with a landline phone that I can figure out. Third, it would be nice if multiple users could access the same account from their devices. Even if used as a sales tool this would limit interaction to one person. Finally, without an API this is walled garden approach. Without being about to integrate with existing support platforms it is basically useless as a support channel. In the end, I would like to see WhatsApp have a "business version" and would most likely be a consumer of such service, but verified accounts seems like putting the cart in front of the horse to me.
- puranjay 9y ago
  > Second (and correct me if I am wrong), there is no way to create an account associated with a landline phone that I can figure out. In markets like India (one of Whatsapp's largest) landline phones have been obsolete for nearly a decade now. It's not a forward-looking feature. Tons of businesses in India are already using Whatsapp here in India. It's a huge and critical part of the economy now.
  - jeffmould 9y ago
    I can appreciate that. Unfortunately, here in the US most businesses still all rely on some form of landline number. For many, this is more a virtual number(s) through some VoIP provider. It would be nice to see WhatsApp integrate with some of the players in that market as an "add-on" feature to their services.
    - tome 9y ago
      Staples (UK) didn't allow me to set up a business account because my company didn't have a landline number.
jasode 9y ago
Isn't this related to an upcoming feature[1] for businesses to contact (some may read it as "spam") you on WhatsApp? If so, the verified colors being "green" or "yellow" is really a minor detail. A better submission would be a story of the "big picture" about businesses interacting with WhatsApp users. (E.g. Will the unsolicited commercial interactions make the platform better or drive people away?) >If you'd like to stop a business from contacting you, you can block them. I'm guessing users are not looking forward to the day when the smartphone imposes yet another housekeeping task on them. [1] http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/whatsapp-spam-messages-businesses-customers-company-directly-app-a7620081.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/new...
- rodorgas 9y ago
  You can have businesses support without spam if they only allow the chat to be started by the user.
eponeponepon 9y ago
I'm curious as to how this will interact with things like state-mandated do not call registries. Currently I can register my phone number such that businesses are not permitted to cold-call me; if this were, say, Skype or Hangouts, then I would have to give ScamCo plc my account name and accept a request from them (or vice-versa), but since services like Whatsapp don't have any concept of mutual consent before contact, I don't get to be asked whether I'd like to hear from them. I expect it also won't be too long before marketing execs start clamouring to be allowed to use "rich text" and images, and we'll all get to start receiving dodgy Javascript through Whatsapp. Ho hum.
sschueller 9y ago
WhatsApp is missing out in a big way. In Brazil almost every business has a whatsapp number. Where are the tools to make using whatsApp easier for a business? The fact that I still need my phone around to use the webclient just sucks. Telegram doesn't need it, why does whatsapp?
- film42 9y ago
  Agree 100%! I also find it weird that you can only be signed in to one web client at a time, and your phone MUST be connected to the internet for it to work. Telegram also has a really great developer experience while WhatsApp is locked down. Hopefully biz verification is the first of many new product features. I know making big changes with as many users as they have is really hard, but I would love to see some momentum.
- MichaelGG 9y ago
  They're moving slow, probably out of extra caution about scaring off users by commercializing it. It's not like they're unaware of the absolutely massive demand for brands and companies to get into WA. Maybe it's also spam. You can't sign up for Whatsapp without a mobile number - landlines and VoIP mostly do not work to activate.
  - BenjiWiebe 9y ago
    Google voice numbers work, and show up in contact lists as Grand Central, which makes me think they explicitly intend to support Google voice.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
    - MichaelGG 9y ago
      Interesting. I tried that earlier this year and WhatsApp rejected it saying it wasn't a mobile.
- rodorgas 9y ago
cur50r 9y ago
TBH I think a previous contributor hit the Nail on the head. It must be part of a new business strategy because on its own it does more damage then good. Whatsapp will now need to allow a team to go through business verification, double check more message flags and support business customers. Also there is talk of not allowing the deletion of messages, this brings up several questions of encryption and privacy. Something that WhatsApp have recently got down. All of the above cost money and add very little value. There is no additional service that is acquired by a business from using a personal account. Therefore it would be crazy for them not to have something else coming. What I hope Is a fully synchronised system with whatsapp. When this happens whatsapp/Facebook joins the realms of the giants like WeCha!
cur50r 9y ago
TBH I think a previous contributor hit the Nail on the head. It must be part of a new business strategy because on its own it does more damage then good. Whatsapp will now need to allow a team to go through business verification, double check more message flags and support business customers. Also there is talk of not allowing the deletion of messages, this brings up several questions of encryption and privacy. Something that WhatsApp have recently got down. All of the above cost money and add very little value. There is no additional service that is acquired by a business from using a personal account. Therefore it would be crazy for them not to have something else coming. What I hope Is a fully synchronised system with whatsapp. When this happens whatsapp/Facebook joins the realms of the giants like WeChat
MatthewWilkes 9y ago
And yet WhatsApp refuse to allow my work phone access to their network as they don't recognise the phone number as that of a mobile phone. After they asked to see documentation from my phone provider to show that it was indeed a mobile phone contract they ran out of excuses and fell back on "there's nothing we can do"
- BenjiWiebe 9y ago
  Yet surprisingly they allow Google voice numbers. Strange.
  - nathancahill 9y ago
    Not all of them. I was lucky because I ported my carrier number to Google Voice, so telecoms still think it's a cell phone number. However, you have to try a number of GV numbers before one sticks now. This is something they've changed recently. Twilio numbers do not work, since they are now sending the verification code from a 6 digit short number, which Twilio does not support. WhatsApp has also cracked down on a number of temporary phone number services including Burner.
har564 9y ago
Now, Whatsapp should release API access to chats so that customers can automate chats. That'll allow them to scale to an Enterprise level.
- BinaryIdiot 9y ago
  Yes! I am working on a side project that currently integrates with email and sms; I would LOVE to hook into Whatsapp as well in the very near future. It could really replace / augment the same type of integration Facebook Messenger supports.
contingencies 9y ago
TLDR: Copying WeChat.
nathancahill 9y ago
This will work great in Mexico. Almost all businesses here allow you to order stuff over WhatsApp. I've bought everything from car insurance to street tacos on WhatsApp. Businesses have both FB and WA icons painted on the outside, with the FB page name and the WA number. Partially due to the heavy cash economy, all businesses' calls to action on social media (FB/Instagram) focus on getting people to message and then place orders via WA or Messenger (instead of clicking Buy links to CC forms online). The response rates are really good, within minutes for most places. It feels like a perfected version of "chatbot AI" sometimes.
fairpx 9y ago
I'm not sure if it costs money to have a verified business account but frankly, this is what Twitter should have done. Have paid verified business accounts. I'd easily pay $25+/mo and have a bunch of handy business features and maybe be promoted once in a while to a relevant audience. Missed opportunity.

51 points by artsandsci 9y ago

philliphaydon 9y ago

Is whatsapp making a snail paced attempt at becoming WeChat of the west?

mullen 9y ago
Never going to happen at this pace. No API No Money Transfer (Well, not yet)
- _jgdh 9y ago
  Money Transfer is going to become a feature in India. They're using a payments API that works with all bank existing accounts, so anyone using whatsapp in India could transfer money to and from anyone who's set up their account for UPI. Source - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/whatsapp-gets-nod-for-upi-payments/articleshow/59537161.cms http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/w...
kinkrtyavimoodh 9y ago
WeChat of anything not China would be a better way of putting it. One of their biggest consumer bases is India and there it may actually manage to become like WeChat.
cosinetau 9y ago
I think Facebook makes experimental developments to Messenger first, and then it develops what works really well on WhatsApp after that. But I don't use WhatsApp, and don't really see the fine details of their work, so I could totally have it assbackwards.

jeffmould 9y ago

As someone who uses WhatsApp to communicate with friends and family overseas, I could potentially see that as a nice support channel for businesses. However, there are several problems I see. First, you can't have more than one account linked to the app on your phone. Second (and correct me if I am wrong), there is no way to create an account associated with a landline phone that I can figure out. Third, it would be nice if multiple users could access the same account from their devices. Even if used as a sales tool this would limit interaction to one person. Finally, without an API this is walled garden approach. Without being about to integrate with existing support platforms it is basically useless as a support channel. In the end, I would like to see WhatsApp have a "business version" and would most likely be a consumer of such service, but verified accounts seems like putting the cart in front of the horse to me.

puranjay 9y ago
> Second (and correct me if I am wrong), there is no way to create an account associated with a landline phone that I can figure out. In markets like India (one of Whatsapp's largest) landline phones have been obsolete for nearly a decade now. It's not a forward-looking feature. Tons of businesses in India are already using Whatsapp here in India. It's a huge and critical part of the economy now.
- jeffmould 9y ago
  I can appreciate that. Unfortunately, here in the US most businesses still all rely on some form of landline number. For many, this is more a virtual number(s) through some VoIP provider. It would be nice to see WhatsApp integrate with some of the players in that market as an "add-on" feature to their services.
  - tome 9y ago
    Staples (UK) didn't allow me to set up a business account because my company didn't have a landline number.

jasode 9y ago

Isn't this related to an upcoming feature[1] for businesses to contact (some may read it as "spam") you on WhatsApp? If so, the verified colors being "green" or "yellow" is really a minor detail. A better submission would be a story of the "big picture" about businesses interacting with WhatsApp users. (E.g. Will the unsolicited commercial interactions make the platform better or drive people away?) >If you'd like to stop a business from contacting you, you can block them. I'm guessing users are not looking forward to the day when the smartphone imposes yet another housekeeping task on them. [1] http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/whatsapp-spam-messages-businesses-customers-company-directly-app-a7620081.html http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/new...

rodorgas 9y ago
You can have businesses support without spam if they only allow the chat to be started by the user.

eponeponepon 9y ago

I'm curious as to how this will interact with things like state-mandated do not call registries. Currently I can register my phone number such that businesses are not permitted to cold-call me; if this were, say, Skype or Hangouts, then I would have to give ScamCo plc my account name and accept a request from them (or vice-versa), but since services like Whatsapp don't have any concept of mutual consent before contact, I don't get to be asked whether I'd like to hear from them. I expect it also won't be too long before marketing execs start clamouring to be allowed to use "rich text" and images, and we'll all get to start receiving dodgy Javascript through Whatsapp. Ho hum.

sschueller 9y ago

WhatsApp is missing out in a big way. In Brazil almost every business has a whatsapp number. Where are the tools to make using whatsApp easier for a business? The fact that I still need my phone around to use the webclient just sucks. Telegram doesn't need it, why does whatsapp?

film42 9y ago
Agree 100%! I also find it weird that you can only be signed in to one web client at a time, and your phone MUST be connected to the internet for it to work. Telegram also has a really great developer experience while WhatsApp is locked down. Hopefully biz verification is the first of many new product features. I know making big changes with as many users as they have is really hard, but I would love to see some momentum.
MichaelGG 9y ago
They're moving slow, probably out of extra caution about scaring off users by commercializing it. It's not like they're unaware of the absolutely massive demand for brands and companies to get into WA. Maybe it's also spam. You can't sign up for Whatsapp without a mobile number - landlines and VoIP mostly do not work to activate.
- BenjiWiebe 9y ago
  Google voice numbers work, and show up in contact lists as Grand Central, which makes me think they explicitly intend to support Google voice.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - MichaelGG 9y ago
    Interesting. I tried that earlier this year and WhatsApp rejected it saying it wasn't a mobile.
rodorgas 9y ago

cur50r 9y ago

TBH I think a previous contributor hit the Nail on the head. It must be part of a new business strategy because on its own it does more damage then good. Whatsapp will now need to allow a team to go through business verification, double check more message flags and support business customers. Also there is talk of not allowing the deletion of messages, this brings up several questions of encryption and privacy. Something that WhatsApp have recently got down. All of the above cost money and add very little value. There is no additional service that is acquired by a business from using a personal account. Therefore it would be crazy for them not to have something else coming. What I hope Is a fully synchronised system with whatsapp. When this happens whatsapp/Facebook joins the realms of the giants like WeCha!

cur50r 9y ago

MatthewWilkes 9y ago

And yet WhatsApp refuse to allow my work phone access to their network as they don't recognise the phone number as that of a mobile phone. After they asked to see documentation from my phone provider to show that it was indeed a mobile phone contract they ran out of excuses and fell back on "there's nothing we can do"

BenjiWiebe 9y ago
Yet surprisingly they allow Google voice numbers. Strange.
- nathancahill 9y ago
  Not all of them. I was lucky because I ported my carrier number to Google Voice, so telecoms still think it's a cell phone number. However, you have to try a number of GV numbers before one sticks now. This is something they've changed recently. Twilio numbers do not work, since they are now sending the verification code from a 6 digit short number, which Twilio does not support. WhatsApp has also cracked down on a number of temporary phone number services including Burner.

har564 9y ago

Now, Whatsapp should release API access to chats so that customers can automate chats. That'll allow them to scale to an Enterprise level.

BinaryIdiot 9y ago
Yes! I am working on a side project that currently integrates with email and sms; I would LOVE to hook into Whatsapp as well in the very near future. It could really replace / augment the same type of integration Facebook Messenger supports.

contingencies 9y ago

TLDR: Copying WeChat.

nathancahill 9y ago

This will work great in Mexico. Almost all businesses here allow you to order stuff over WhatsApp. I've bought everything from car insurance to street tacos on WhatsApp. Businesses have both FB and WA icons painted on the outside, with the FB page name and the WA number. Partially due to the heavy cash economy, all businesses' calls to action on social media (FB/Instagram) focus on getting people to message and then place orders via WA or Messenger (instead of clicking Buy links to CC forms online). The response rates are really good, within minutes for most places. It feels like a perfected version of "chatbot AI" sometimes.

fairpx 9y ago

I'm not sure if it costs money to have a verified business account but frankly, this is what Twitter should have done. Have paid verified business accounts. I'd easily pay $25+/mo and have a bunch of handy business features and maybe be promoted once in a while to a relevant audience. Missed opportunity.