WhatsApp payment reminders: the rules and how to set them up

What you need

1. A number on the WhatsApp Business Platform. Software sends messages through Meta’s Cloud API, which needs a phone number registered to your business’s WhatsApp Business account. Meta verifies your business during setup.
2. Customer opt-in. Collect consent to message a customer on WhatsApp, for example a checkbox on your order form or a line in your terms that the customer agrees to, and keep a record of it.
3. Approved templates. Write your reminder messages as templates and submit them to Meta for approval before you use them.

The four rules that matter most

1. Opt-in first

Only message people who agreed to hear from you on WhatsApp. Buying or scraping numbers is not allowed.

2. Templates outside the 24-hour window

When a customer writes to you, a 24-hour customer service window opens and you can reply freely. A reminder that you start, or any message after the window closes, must be an approved template.

3. Pick the right category

Meta groups templates into categories such as Utility (about an existing order or account), Marketing and Authentication. A reminder about an invoice the customer already owes is usually Utility. Offers and discounts are Marketing, even if you add them to a reminder.

4. Let people stop

Tell customers how to opt out and respect it straight away. Too many blocks and reports lower your number’s quality rating, which can limit how many people you can message.

A reminder template, ready to submit

More wording, including Hindi and Hinglish versions, is in our payment reminder templates.

Good practice for reminders

• Send the first reminder a few days before the due date, then space follow-ups out.
• Send in the daytime, and pause reminders once the customer promises a date or disputes the bill.
• Never threaten, and never share a customer’s dues with anyone else.
• Meta does not allow general-purpose AI chatbots on WhatsApp. Automated replies should stay about your own business.

How it works in Munshiji

Munshiji connects to the WhatsApp Business Platform with your own number. It is built on Meta’s official Cloud API only, with no unofficial WhatsApp Web automation.

• Reminder templates are filled from your invoices: name, amount, due date and invoice number.
• Replies land in a shared inbox for your team, matched to the customer.
• Outside the 24-hour window, only approved templates can be sent.
• A customer who sends STOP is opted out; START opts them back in.
• Broadcasts go only to contacts who opted in, with pacing and quiet hours.

For customers who don’t read messages, add an automated reminder call.