WhatsApp Business: Buy products, book seats and appointments - all through Flows

Dubai: In a major announcement in Mumbai on Wednesday, social media giant Meta revealed new features available on WhatsApp specifically catering to businesses using the platform.

From paying for a purchase from within WhatsApp to allowing customers to book seats or appointments through the app, WhatsApp's latest update comes jam-packed with features that will help small and medium businesses.

Meta launched its business product WhatsApp Flows in India during Wednesday's 'Conversations' event.

Here's what it can do for customers and businesses:

In-app services

With Flows, businesses will be able to provide customers the ability to book a seat, order food or make an appointment from within the WhatsApp chat.

For vendors using WhatsApp for business, the platform has rolled out rich menus and customizable forms for this. The Flows update will be rolled out over the next few weeks, Meta announced.

In-app payments

In a major boost for small businesses on the platform, customers in India can now choose to pay for a product or service through WhatsApp. India is the third country to get the feature, after Brazil and Singapore.

In India, however, the platform will also have access to other payment methods including UPI apps, debit cards and credit cards. The app partnered with Razorpay and PayU for this feature.

Get verified

The biggest issue with online businesses for customers is the possibility of getting scammed. Meta will introduce verification for WhatsApp business accounts to ensure safety of transactions.

For businesses interested in signing up, the company added that Meta Verified will come with additional premium features including the ability to create a custom WhatsApp page that is easily discoverable via a web search, and multi-device support so multiple employees can respond to customers.