Facebook wants to cash-in on its $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp.
The California-based social network plans to invoice companies to help bridge the gap between businesses and consumers, WhatsApp COO Matt Idema has revealed in an interview with Fox Business.
Idema said: “We want to put a basic foundation in place to allow people to message businesses and for them to get the responses that they want.
“We do intend on charging businesses in the future.”
The other hugely-successful messaging app under Facebook’s control – Facebook Messenger – relies on advertising revenue to generate income.
With WhatsApp, Facebook has employed a very different model.
The US social network plans to streamline communication features for customers who want to send enquiries to businesses or brands.
Customers who would usually use the chat window on a businesses’ website will be able to send them a message within WhatsApp.
To help users tell businesses and individuals apart, the popular chat app will roll-out dedicated verification badges, like the Blue Ticks on Twitter.
Thankfully, in order to chat with customers, companies will have to be approved by the user. That should prevent users being plagued with marketing spam from companies.
Companies in Europe, Brazil, India and Indonesia are already believed to be testing the new feature.
According to The Next Web, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is one of the biggest companies testing the functionality ahead of a wider roll-out.
It’s clear Facebook is looking for ways to monetise WhatsApp after quietly ditching the 69p a year subscription model when it acquired the app back in 2014.
More details about the new paid features for businesses are tipped to arrive next week.