Articles on: Integrations

Connect WhatsApp Business Platform with Crisp

Crisp is a WhatsApp Business Solution Provider which lets you connect a WhatsApp Business phone number to your Crisp Inbox, allowing messages to flow directly to Crisp. You can then leverage on all your existing Crisp features (Chatbot, Knowledge Base, Shared Inbox) to manage all your WhatsApp users at scale.


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Connect the WhatsApp Business Platform with Crisp


By enabling this integration, you allow your company to build a shared inbox for WhatsApp Business and benefit from all the features available in Crisp: better collaboration, more productivity, data synchronization and many other great assets.


Requirements


Before getting started with the WhatsApp Business Platform integration, please make sure the following requirements are met:


  • You need a Crisp Essentials or Plus plan.
  • Be an owner on your Crisp workspace
  • An existing phone number (mobile or landline).
  • An admin access to your Meta Business Manager.


If the number you are connecting is being used on the Whatsapp Business mobile app, you will need to delete it from the mobile app first. You can find more details on this here.


Want to know more about the WhatsApp Business Pricing details? Head to the bottom of this article


Installing the WhatsApp Business platform Plugin


First you will need to go on app.crisp.chat and then Plugins, and finally search "WhatsApp"


Open your Crisp App, then go to Plugins, and then search WhatsApp


Connecting to your Whatsapp Business Account (WABA).


If this is the first time you are connecting your Whatsapp number, or you are moving from the Whatsapp Business mobile app, click "Connect a new Whatsapp Business Account" and then the "Connect to WhatsApp" button to continue.


If you are migrating a number from an existing Whatsapp Business account, please follow the guide from here.



You will be then redirected to Facebook. During the setup process you :


  • Select the required Business Manager
  • Fill your Business Details
  • Create or Select a WhatsApp Phone Number



Selecting your WhatsApp Business Account


Pick your WhatsApp account in the list



Testing your WhatsApp Business account


You can now use your WhatsApp account. If your number is not connected, click "Connect number", you can then click on the green Whatsapp button to view your QR code to send a test message from WhatsApp to the WhatsApp phone number associated with Crisp.



Migrate an existing Whatapp phone number


Overview

The migration process allows you to transfer your registered phone number from one WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) to another, which is necessary if you are moving from your current Whatsapp Business Solution Provider (BSP) to a new BSP - in this instance, Crisp will serve as your new BSP. With this, you can switch to a new BSP while retaining your phone number and any existing message templates. Once the migration is finalized, your display name, quality rating, messaging limits, Official Business Account status, and any previously approved high-quality message templates will be seamlessly transferred to the new BSP.


If you are migrating an existing number from the Official Whatsapp App, you will need to delete the number and connect the number as a new number. For more information click here


What will be migrated?


Message templates
All high quality message templates from the previous WABA will be duplicated and automatically approved in your new WABA as long as the destination WABA can accommodate new templates. Any existing message templates in the new WABA will not be affected. Low quality, rejected, or pending templates from the previous WABA will not be duplicated and migrated.


In the case the new WABA cannot accommodate all of the new templates, an attempt to migrate as many templates as possible will be made until the new WABA'S template limit has been reached. Templates that could not be migrated must be re-created and submitted for approval if they are to be used by the destination WABA.


Billing Migration
Messages sent before migration are charged to the previous BSP. Messages sent after migration are charged to the new BSP - in this instance, Crisp. Messages sent from the previous BSP, and are not delivered before migration, are still charged to the previous BSP when they get delivered.


What are the limitations?
  • As mentioned above, Business phone numbers in use with the WhatsApp Business App cannot be migrated using this process. The number will need to be deleted from the app and connected as a new number.
  • Message and chat history are not migrated with this process. WhatsApp conversations cannot be imported via the REST API either.


Preparation
  • The number must have the ability to receive a SMS or Voice calls as a 6 digit confirmation code will be sent to the number from Meta during the migration.
  • Two-factor authentication for the number must be disabled before continuing. You must contact your previous provider to do this for you.
  • The new WABA must be owned by the same Facebook business as the previous WABA. This means the Facebook Business ID must be identical for both WABAs. You can find your Facebook Business ID here.


If you have not already created a new WABA in Crisp before, you can create one in the next steps.


Migrate the number

Once the 2FA on the number has been disabled, you can begin the process of migrating your number from your previous BSP to Crisp. Click on the second option "Migrate an existing Whatsapp Business Account from my current provider." and click "Connect to WhatsApp".


⚠️ After migrating to Crisp, it will not be possible to use your number with your previous provider. This includes using any API's provided by your current provider. ⚠️


Initialize the migration process


A window to Facebook will then open, where you can follow the steps with Facebook. Login to Facebook if you have not done so already


  1. Connect your Facebook Business Account to Crisp. This needs to be the same Facebook account that is connected to your current WABA.
  2. Create your new WhatsApp Business Account You should create a new one in the dialog to connect your number to Crisp. If you have already created one using this popup window from Crisp and it is listed, you can select the existing business.



Enter your WhatsApp Business ID from the WABA you created in the previous step and click continue. You can find your ID from here.



Then, enter the number which you would like to migrate in international format and select how you would like to receive your verification code from Facebook.



Once you receive your 6-digit verification code you need to enter it and click continue. Your WhatsApp number will now be migrated to Crisp and you will be redirected to your configuration page where you can test your number.


How to add a new number to my WhatsApp Business?


  1. If the number was used on the WhatsApp mobile app, the account should first be deleted.
  2. Select Add a new number to my existing business and click Reconnect to WhatsApp
  3. In the pop-up dialog, select your current Meta business and click next.
  4. Select your current WhatsApp business already connected to Crisp and choose Create or select a WhatsApp Business profile .
  5. Create the new WhatsApp profile.
  6. Add the new number and verify it through a text message or a voice call.
  7. Once complete close the dialog and you will be redirected to Crisp, select your business and you should be connected with your new number!


How to access my WhatsApp Business Manager?


  1. Go to your Business Manager, select your business and then click the settings cog on the bottom left of the page.
  2. Select Business Settings. A new tab to your business settings will open.



  1. Select Accounts > WhatsApp Account and select the account you would like to change.
  2. Then, click the Settings tab for the account and WhatsApp Manager at the bottom of the settings.



How to change my Profile Picture & Display name?

In order to change your WhatsApp display name and profile picture, you will need to do this in your Whatsapp Business Manager.


  1. Go to your WhatsApp Business manager following the steps above
  2. On the left panel, go to Account Tools > Phone numbers
  3. On the number you would like to edit, hover over the name and click on the Edit the display name for this phone number and follow the prompt. Your display name will then need to be approved by WhatsApp.



  1. To change the profile image click the settings cog on the same page, then click Profile . Here you can change your picture, business description, address, website and more.



When changing your display name, once it is approved you must contact Crisp support and we will enable the option to re-register your number for the change to take effect.


  1. Go back to your Crisp WhatsApp plugin > Phone numbers . You should see the option to register your phone number (if you see a "connect" or "disconnect" button, refresh the page) and register the number.


How to disable the 2FA for a WhatsApp Business Number?


If you have connected your number through a WhatsApp business solution provider, you will need to contact them in-order to disable the 2FA on the number, you will not be able to perform the actions below.


  1. Go to your WhatsApp Business manager following the steps above
  2. On the left panel, go to Account Tools > Phone Numbers
  3. On the number you would like to disable the 2FA, click on settings
  4. Go to Two-step Verification and select Turn off two-step verification


If you do not have these options you need to contact your current provider and ask them to disable the 2FA on your WhatsApp number for you. Further information in Facebooks documentation.


How to get started with WhatsApp Business Platform API?


To get started with WhatsApp Business Platform APIs you have to have followed previous steps .


Make sure you've properly created, or migrated, your WhatsApp Business Account to Crisp following the steps described above 🔝


Once ready, head over to this section: WhatsApp Business API Guide


How to create Message Templates?


Message templates will help you initiate and respond to conversations with your customers, even if 24 hours has passed since the last message. Your templates will need to be created and approved in your WhatsApp Business Manager.


Note that only approved templates will be shown in the widget.


  1. Go to your WhatsApp Business manager following the steps above
  2. On the left panel, go to Account Tools > Message Templates
  3. On the top right, click "Create Template"
  4. Fill in the template details and submit the template.
  5. Once your template is approved by Meta you will be able to send the template directly from Crisp in the widget panel.


How to format Message Template variables in Crisp?


To format the text in your variable messages, you can use Whatsapp's supported methods.


Italic

To italicize your message, place an underscore on both sides of the text:
_text_


Bold
To bold your message, place an asterisk on both sides of the text:
*text*


Strikethrough
To strikethrough your message, place a tilde on both sides of the text:
~text~


Monospace
To monospace your message, place three backticks on both sides of the text:
```text```


How to send a catalog message template?


  • First you will need to create a catalog in your Facebook Business Commerce Manager
  • Link your catalog to your Whatsapp business
  • Create a Marketing message template selecting the product messages option.
  • Once your template is approved, you will see the message template in the WhatsApp widget on Crisp, like in the image below.
  • Input any message variables, then for the Catalog variables option you need to insert the content ID from any item in your catalog. This item will be shown in the message header.



Pricing Details on the WhatsApp Business Platform


What are business messages and how does it impact pricing?


Meta's pricing have taken effect as of 1st July 2025, pricing is now message-based, not conversation-based anymore


Business message are messages sent from Crisp to WhatsApp Business users using Message Templates. All business messages have to be paid and incur a charge. Note that fees differ from one country to another.


➡️ Contact us if you want to have more details about the charges involved, they are based on the geographical location and type of message templates sent.


About the paid plan


Willing to initiate conversations as a business? Would you like to contact your customer even after the 24 hour window limitation? It's possible! Thank to WhatsApp Business Templates available from Crisp, you can send messages outside of the 24-hour window.


We charge based on: 

  • Who the message is sent to, per the country calling code of the recipient’s phone number. 
  • The category of the message (marketing, utility, authentication or service). 
  • Our rates vary by market x category pair.


Prices of WhatsApp Business Message templates are based on their nature:

  • Marketing
  • Utility
  • Service
  • Authentication


We charge for each template message a business sends to a user. If a business sends 1 marketing message and 1 utility message, that incurs 2 charges (1 of each category).


Note that we do not charge when businesses send service OR utility messages templates in response to users (within the 24-hour customer service window).


How to respond to users at no charge with service messages through WhatsApp Business?


Businesses can respond via service (free-form) messages to users within the 24-hour customer service window at no charge. The 24-hour customer service window resets with each user message.


Businesses can be available for and engage with their customers on WhatsApp Business, including via AI-enabled Chatbot conversational experiences, at no charge.


The customer service window is a 24-hour timer that starts with a user message and resets with each new user message. As long as the customer service window is open, businesses can respond to users via free-form messages or utility messages, at no charge. Free-form messages are any message type that is not a template message.



How much does it cost to combine Crisp and WhatsApp Business and how does it work?


As a Business Service Provider, Crisp is rightfully enabled to handle billing on purpose of Meta. For each paid template sent, Crisp takes an additional fee on top of Meta's public fee.


Credits can be bought from $50 and are set as a monthly recurring payment. A credit consumption will be issued every time a template is delivered to engage a conversation. Measured as credits, Crisp billing is based on monthly credits that allow you to create, answer or engage through a generous number of messages on the WhatsApp Business Platform.


To get credits on your Crisp Workspace and get started with WhatsApp Business, get in touch with our support.


Make the most out of Crisp Inbox and Wa Business Platform



Updated on: 02/07/2025

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