WhatsApp's new pricing and authentication template changes for India and Indonesia traffic

Who is affected: Messaging customers who use WhatsApp for Authentication messages sent to India and Indonesia.
Products affected: Messaging - WhatsApp
Changes:
- Authentication International Rates pricing category:  WhatsApp is introducing a new pricing category called "Authentication International Rates", which is a category by WhatsApp that will specifically apply to authentication messages sent to India and Indonesia. WhatsApp is implementing pricing changes under this new category in two phases: June 1, 2024 for Indonesia and July 1, 2024 for India.
- Geographical impact:  Customers located in India will be charged the new international rate for authentication messages sent to users in Indonesia, and vice versa. Customers located in another country (e.g., the US, Serbia) will also be subject to these new rates when sending authentication messages to users in India or Indonesia. There are no changes to the pricing for any other country.
- Authentication templates for India:  Starting on July 1, 2024, India will be eligible for sending authentication templates. This update allows customers to utilize authentication messaging services within India, one of the largest markets in the world. Previously, WhatsApp has not allowed the use case of authentication in India.
- Messaging categories remain the same: The existing pricing categories match the existing categories of messages: Authentication, Utility, Marketing, and Service. These message categories remain the same, but the key change is the differentiation within the Authentication category, where messages sent internationally will now incur a higher rate compared to domestic authentication messages.
- Why this change is important: Domestic (lower) pricing is advantageous to customers which have a business registered in these countries. Previously, WhatsApp pricing was only based on destination country and not based on business location. Pricing based on business location is a common practice for SMS, but is new for WhatsApp.
- Additional information: "Authentication International Rates" will apply only if Meta has identified a customer as eligible. Please see Authentication - International Rates and emails from Meta and Telesign or contact your Telesign Customer Success Manager (CSM) for more information.