In a world where ad revenues drive most of the solutions available in the digital market, it may come as a surprise that Whatsapp Messenger is free from ads. The world’s most popular messaging app, is a simple to use and user friendly application that offers secure voice calling and messaging solutions. The narrative is in the numbers. Around 65 billion messages are sent every day through the platform making it the undisputed leader. However, the most interesting aspect is the fact that the messenger is free from ads. At least as of now. This begs the question – how is it sustained? Here is a look at the revenue model.
From One Time Subscription To Free Service
At one point of time, users of Whatsapp had to make a one time payment of one dollar. This was applicable in certain locations where it was first launched. Subsequently, this was changed to a fully free service. This is not expected to change in the future. However, Whatsapp needs to monetize the platform, considering that Facebook acquired it after a paying $19 billion. So how does Whatsapp make money? Nothing comes for free, and somewhere someone needs to make payments to support the platform and keep it going. It is hard to expect a messenger service that is uber convenient to run without revenues. So where is the money coming from?
Whatsapp For Business
Though Whatsapp has not made profits as yet, the tech giant has launched Whatsapp for business and quite a few businesses have signed up for the service. This will permit businesses to engage customers directly on a single platform without the need for maintaining a separate platform to share content or updates about products and shipping information. Businesses that sign up for the service get to register for free. However, businesses will need to pay a nominal fee for certain messages sent to customers on the platform. For instance, if a business receives a message from a customer and replies to the customer after 24 hours, a nominal amount is charged.
Businesses do not have the liberty to send promotional material to users outside the contacts list. In other words, messages can only be exchanged with members who have first contacted the business. Businesses who have enrolled, find the service to be useful, with updates on discounts, important shipping information and status updates being shared with customers. Customers find the connection useful, as all information is available without the need for querying or searching about the company’s products and services.
Whatapps Payments
Whatsapp payments will also fetch the company a transaction fee which will help to monetize the platform. With the largest number of users, Whatsapp will permit peer to peer and customer to company transactions in a swift and secure manner. The whole idea is to bring multiple options under a single umbrella, offering customers the options of using it for multiple activities. This helps to free up space, speed up activities and offer greater security and convenience. Whatsapp payments are more likely to charge a nominal transaction fee from merchants and not from the customers.