What does a WABA contain?
A WABA contains your business phone number, its display name and business profile, your approved message templates, and the billing setup that pays Meta's message charges. All of it sits inside your Meta business portfolio, so the accounts belong to your business rather than to the software you use to send messages.
Meta's documentation, updated in August 2026, describes two linked account types. A WhatsApp account (WAAC) holds one business phone number and your presence on WhatsApp. A Messaging account holds your templates and billing, and each partner you work with has its own. Most people and tools still say WABA for the pair, and the API still returns a field called waba_id.
Is a WABA the same as the WhatsApp Business app?
No. The WhatsApp Business app is the free phone app for one person replying by hand. A WABA is for the WhatsApp Business API, which lets a team share one number, connect software and AI, and send approved templates at scale. With coexistence, one number can now use both at once.
How do you get a WABA?
Most businesses get one through a provider's sign-up flow, which Meta calls Embedded Signup. You log in with Facebook, choose or create your business portfolio, add and verify your phone number and pick a display name. The flow creates the accounts inside your own portfolio. Rainmaqer AI walks you through this during onboarding.
Businesses with their own developers can also create the accounts from Meta's App Dashboard and use Cloud API directly.
How does Rainmaqer AI handle this?
Rainmaqer AI runs on the official WhatsApp Business API and sets it up with you during onboarding, so you don't have to work through Meta's dashboards alone. Most businesses are live in about a week.
Rainmaqer AI is ₹1,999/month billed yearly or ₹2,999/month billed quarterly, plus GST. See pricing.
Sources
Checked on 25 Oct 2026. Meta updates these pages often, so check them for the latest detail.
Frequently asked questions
What does WABA stand for?
WhatsApp Business Account. Meta's current documentation describes it as two linked accounts: a WhatsApp account that holds your phone number and a Messaging account that holds your templates and billing.
Can one WABA have more than one phone number?
Meta's docs say each business phone number maps to one WhatsApp account, and accounts can be linked into a hierarchy so you manage several numbers as a group. Meta starts businesses at 2 registered numbers per hierarchy, which can be raised to 20.
Do I need a WABA to use Rainmaqer AI?
Yes. Rainmaqer AI runs on the official WhatsApp Business API, which needs one. We set it up with you during onboarding, and with coexistence you can keep the WhatsApp Business app on the same number.
Does a WABA cost money?
Creating the account is free. Meta charges per delivered message, by category and country, and each provider charges for its software. Rainmaqer AI is ₹1,999/month billed yearly or ₹2,999/month billed quarterly, plus GST, with Meta's charges billed at actuals.