The first step to running your business on WhatsApp is to create an official business account. However, that does not mean you can get started - you still need to have a verified WhatsApp Business account.
You might have noticed with a few businesses, having the green badge next to the contact’s name This Green Tick is what confirms that the business’ WhatsApp verified. Additionally, the name of the business shows up without having to save the contact.
The Green Tick Verification on WhatsApp is different from actually getting your WhatsApp Business API Account verified and just having your business verified for using the WhatsApp APIs does not mean that you automatically qualify for the verified Green Tick.
Any business can apply for the Green Tick once they’re approved for WhatsApp's Business APIs. However, very few businesses meet WhatsApp’s official business account criteria. WhatsApp generally reserves the Green Tick (or an Official Business Account) to a limited number of highly reputed businesses.
There are two different types of WhatsApp Business Accounts:
i) Business Account
ii) Official WhatsApp Business account
Every business that uses the WhatsApp Business APIs (or has an Official WhatsApp Business Account) is considered a Business Account. Before any business can sign on to use the WhatsApp APIs, WhatsApp verifies the authenticity of a brand for every account. A major part of this happens through Facebook, which requires businesses to have a verified Facebook Business Manager ID before they can get an account.
If a business has a WhatsApp Business Account, the display name will only be shown in the contacts view in smaller text. The contact will show up with just the phone number everywhere else. However, you can add your business information to your account, and customers can find out more about your company by opening the contact info section.
If a business has an Official WhatsApp Business Account, the display name would show up in the chat list, chat screens, and contact view, regardless of whether the contact has been saved or not. The Green Tick would show up next to the display name in the chat window.
The Green Tick means that WhatsApp has verified that the account is owned by an authentic, notable brand. Due to this, very few businesses will have official business accounts.
The WhatsApp business verification process is quite simple, and you can choose to apply for the Green Tick at any point. However, there is no guarantee that your account will be verified.
That being said, the Green Tick application can be rejected if your business is not reputed. The Green Tick application is approved at WhatsApp’s discretion, and the service provider does not play any role in the process.
There are a few key points to keep in mind before you get your WhatsApp Business Account Verified:
Notability requires a business to represent a well-known, often searched brand or entity. This should not be taken as a signal of the authenticity of the business. A business is considered authentic if they have gone through the Business Verification which verifies the business as a legal entity and their access to the business.
Notability, on the other hand, reflects substantial presence in online news articles. Notability is assessed based on an account’s presence in news articles from publications with sizable audiences. We do not consider paid or promotional content as sources for review, including business or app listings.
Official business accounts are issued at the phone number and display name level. We assess notability for the Display Name of the business account that is requesting OBA status —If the display name is changed after receiving the OBA status, we will need to re-assess the new display name for notability and display name compliance.
Additionally, previous OBA approvals within a WhatsApp Business Account do not guarantee approval for other numbers (with different display names) associated with that account. If your WABA contains one main parent brand and the phone number associated with that brand meet notability requirements, we suggest updating the display names for the child brands as follows: '{{sub-brand name}} by {{notable name}}'.
The Green Tick application normally takes about 1 to 2 business days. However, in certain cases, it can take up to a week.
Not having a Green Tick, or getting rejected does not affect or limit you from using the WhatsApp Business APIs. You can continue to use the APIs without a Green Tick.
However, the rejection is not final, and a business can still re-apply for the green tick in the future once they build up their presence. However, the business will have to wait for 30 days before they are eligible to re-apply.
While some service providers charge for the process of applying for a Green Tick, applying for a Green Tick through Tellephant is a free process. However, approval for the same is still subject to the details outlined previously.
WhatsApp Business accounts are great assets to businesses and being a verified Official WhatsApp Business account with a green tick has many perks. All businesses can apply to be Green Tick verified, but it is not guaranteed that your business will be given one as WhatsApp only grants the Green Tick to reputable businesses.
You can use Tellephant’s services to enable a WhatsApp Business API Account for your business and consequently work on the process to get your business account green tick verified.
For more information, send us an email at hello@tellephant.com!
