Israeli WhatsApp Business

Instructions

Step 0: Decide whether the user needs the Platform at all

Most Israeli small businesses are on the free WhatsApp Business app, not the WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API). Ask first. If the user only needs a catalog, quick replies, labels and manual chats, the app is the right answer and the rest of this skill is overhead. Route to the Platform only for automation, templates at scale, CRM sync or webhooks. Two consequences:

• A number already on the WhatsApp Business app does not necessarily lose its chats. Embedded Signup can onboard it while the business keeps using the app, and WhatsApp keeps message history in sync between the app and the Platform (references/platform-2026.md section 7). Confirm the BSP's signup flow supports this before promising it.
• Platform access needs a business portfolio, a WABA and a system user token. A non-technical owner will usually go through a BSP instead.

Meta Business Verification is the gate most Israeli businesses trip on. A new business portfolio is capped at a messaging limit of 250 (see Step 3.5), and verifying the business is one of the paths that raises it to 2,000.

Step 1: Verify WhatsApp Business Setup