In this step-by-step guide, you will learn how to transfer your existing WhatsApp number to Manychat to exclusively use Manychat to manage your WhatsApp conversations.
Here are the main steps:
- Verify your WhatsApp account business information
- Check your phone number status & messaging limit
- Check if the display name is approved
- Troubleshoot if something is not approved yet
⚠️ Please note that this is a PRO feature and is not available on accounts with a free subscription plan.
We strongly recommend you use a new phone number that is not currently in use with other WhatsApp apps for the following reasons:
- Personal phone numbers cannot be used for personal WhatsApp after connection.
- Messaging customers is limited to 24 hours from their last contact, and out-of-window communication requires approved templates.
- Features such as contact lists, broadcast lists, voice messages, audio calls and group messaging are not available in the WhatsApp App post-connection.
- The WhatsApp Business App will stop working with this number after connection.
- Your chat history will not be transferred. Refer to guides for backup on iPhone and Android.
If you would like to connect a number purchased from Manychat, please check out our article How to connect a new number purchased from Manychat to WhatsApp.
Key requirements overview
To connect your WhatsApp to Manychat successfully, you should start with checking the following conditions in the WhatsApp Business Manager (WABA):
- Business verification: Verified
- Account status: Approved
- Currency: USD
- Credit line: No payment method found. It will become ManyChat Inc after connecting WABA to Manychat.
- Phone number status: can be Pending or Offline. It will become Connected after connecting WABA to Manychat.
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Phone number quality: ideally, High or Normal.
Here's how messaging limits and number quality work: Meta's explanation. - Display name: Approved, and there’s only one display name.
- Messaging limit: 1K Customers/24hr or higher — needed to start sending message templates through live chat.
If any of these conditions are unmet, the channel activation remains incomplete. You can still link your number to Manychat in some cases, but you might not fully utilize its capabilities (e.g., if your Display Name is not approved, you may be limited to 250 conversations per month instead of 1,000 or more) or you may face issues with WhatsApp functionality.
Once connected, you can access the WhatsApp Health widget by navigating to Settings → WhatsApp. This widget displays the criteria of your WhatsApp channel and alerts you to any aspects that may need your attention. A successful WhatsApp channel integration should appear as follows:
In case any of these elements don't meet the criteria listed above, the following steps will help you explore the reasons why. This approach will help us identify and address any discrepancies effectively.
Step 1: Verify your WhatsApp account business information
To set up a WhatsApp number and use a WhatsApp account effectively, the admin role must be assigned within the Facebook Business Manager to the business that will own the WhatsApp number. You can learn more about team roles and how to check your Manychat user team role here.
If you are an agency, you cannot use your own business account for this purpose. Using an agency's account could lead to WhatsApp rejecting the application during the verification process. It is crucial to use the client's business account instead.
Additionally, ensure that you are logged into your personal Facebook account that has access to the business you intend to connect to the WhatsApp API. This step is essential for linking the correct business account to WhatsApp and facilitating a smooth integration.
Navigate to Facebook Business Manager → Settings → WhatsApp Accounts → Click on your account name. Here, you can check four important criteria:
- Currency
- Business verification
- Account status
- Payment method
If Account status is not Approved or Business verification is not Verified in the majority of cases it means that the Business Manager hosting the WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) that was connected to Manychat hasn't been verified by Facebook yet:
If you have not started the process of Business verification please start it as soon as possible by clicking Start verification:
Alternatively, you can go to the Facebook Business manager of the business to be verified Settings → Security Center and click Start verification button.
Follow on-screen instructions to provide data and upload all the required documents. The key requirements for integrating with WhatsApp are that your business must adhere to specific WhatsApp policies and have a valid legal status:
- Establish a legitimate business: Your business must be a real, operational entity that adheres to WhatsApp's policies. You can review these policies to ensure compliance:
- Submit legal documentation: As part of the verification process, you will need to upload documents that confirm the legal status of your business, known as Business Verification.
Important guidance: We strongly recommend following the steps in this guide sequentially. Begin with the initial step, as it is straightforward, quick, and grants immediate access to WhatsApp automation features. Subsequently, gather and submit the necessary documentation one at a time for business verification.
💡 Provide some proof that your business's fantasy name (alias) is connected to your legal name in legal papers. Simple copyright in the footer section of your website will do the trick.
💡 Provided business email should have the same domain as the business website - otherwise, it can trigger some questions from Facebook's Trust & Safety team.
Please be sure to check your business inbox and emails from Facebook / WhatsApp Teams since they might request some additional documentation or ask for clarification.
Step 2: Check your phone number status & messaging limit
You can check your phone number status by clicking WhatsApp Manager here:
After that, you'll see your WhatsApp Manager page with the connected phone number(s). Phone number status can be Pending or Offline. It will become Connected after connecting WABA to Manychat.
Next, you can verify your phone number's messaging limit on the right. Before linking your WABA to Manychat, your messaging limit is usually set at a lower tier or marked as Unavailable. If your messaging limit shows as unavailable, it indicates that your business has not been verified.
Step 3: Check if the display name is approved
The last thing you need to check before you start using your WhatsApp integration is if the display name connected to your phone is approved. To find it, click on the number in question and select the Profile tab.
Step 4: Troubleshoot if something is not approved yet
There are usually 2 reasons why the conditions mentioned in the key requirements overview are not met:
- Your business entities (such as Business Manager, WABA, phone, display name, etc.) are still in review (look for "In review", "Pending", "Pending Approval" statuses).
- Business entities that went through the Review got eventually rejected for some reason. The most common reason is that the business you're trying to verify does not comply with WhatsApp Commerce policy or Business policy.
Please note, your action is needed whenever you received a rejection on any of those business entities: Business Manager, WABA, phone, display name, etc.
Please do not worry if that's the case. Your Business Manager is not banned on Facebook and you will not lose access to it. It just means that you didn't make it on your first try or that WhatsApp's review team made a mistake. That happens. We encourage you to reapply again ensuring that your next application meets all the requirements explained in the policies (see links above).
ACTION NEEDED EXAMPLE: Display name was rejected
If the Display name was rejected you need to change it to another one making sure it complies with WhatsApp's Display name guidelines. To change the name that was rejected, click “Edit” button:
Enter a new name and follow on-screen instructions. Keep in mind that the new name you provide is the subject of the new approval process and will take some time.
If you received a rejection and it’s not clear what to do next, we recommend contacting Facebook business support. Try these resources:
- https://business.facebook.com/business/help
- https://www.facebook.com/fmp/partner-toolkit/support/operational
- or contact your Facebook account manager directly if you have one
If you didn't get any help or guidance from Facebook, we recommend starting the WhatsApp connection process all over again using different business entities (change the display name, use the new phone number, create a new Business Manager, use other legal documents to apply for Business Manager verification, etc.). To do that you will need to ask Manychat Support Team to delete your previous integration first by submitting the request to Manychat Support.