WhatsApp‘s newly updated FAQ page reveals that the service introduced verified business accounts to its beta application for Android devices. The article states that a small number of companies have participated in the pilot implementation of this feature, although it did not list the parties currently involved in the program. Through this feature, legitimate businesses which have been verified by the chat service will now be identified through a green checkmark beside their contact names. Once the user starts chatting with a business account, messages placed inside yellow boxes will also appear, and tapping these yellow boxes will provide additional information about the new feature. The messages will also appear if the firm is not yet verified, which could warn the user about potentially fraudulent accounts. More details on any particular business account can be accessed through the Business Info section of the chat app.
Meanwhile, several new features for business accounts will likely be introduced with the chat service’s enterprise platform, WhatsApp for Small and Medium Business. Through this app, owners gain the ability to set working hours, and once customers chat or call an establishment outside its set hours, they will receive an automated away message. Business accounts also gain the ability to manage and schedule automated messages and users may still block businesses, effectively preventing companies from contacting them.
Over the past few months, WhatsApp has constantly been releasing features that aim to appeal to the enterprise sector. Earlier this month, the beta application of the chat service has introduced peer-to-peer payments. Many entrepreneurs have relied on digital wallet services for money transfers and online transactions, but WhatsApp now aims to deliver a competing solution which could offer near-instantaneous transfers between individuals. Meanwhile, the upcoming enterprise-oriented app will allow entrepreneurs to run two instances of the chat application at the same time. Aside from accessing all relevant business features, it also enables entrepreneurs to simultaneously use both their personal and business accounts on the same device. More information about the new business features of WhatsApp will likely follow shortly as the company moves closer to launching them on a global level.
