Meta Stops WhatsApp Marketing Messages to U.S. Numbers: Impact on Businesses

Meta has always limited WhatsApp marketing messages based on user engagement with previously sent templates. Businesses may have repeatedly seen the error message “USER_MARKETING_TEMPLATE_LIMIT” when messages failed to deliver.  Learn more about the restriction from meta

Zoho Desk does not allow marketing templates to be sent in bulk or through mass actions, as this could lead to compliance violations and legal risks for both customers and BSPs.

Hello, everyone!

Starting April 1, 2025, Meta will pause all WhatsApp marketing messages sent to U.S. phone numbers (+1 country code). If you try to send a marketing message to a U.S. number, it will fail and show an error.

This change affects businesses that use WhatsApp to send promotional messages, discounts, or sales offers to customers in the U.S.

However, you can still send important messages like:

• Order confirmations
• Payment receipts
  
• Shipping updates
  
• One-time passwords (OTPs)
  
• Customer service replies within 24 hours
  

What's changing on April 1, 2025?

• No WhatsApp marketing messages can be sent to U.S. numbers. This affects any message classified as marketing under WhatsApp’s template system, including promotional offers, discounts, and outbound sales messages.
• Non-marketing messages (such as receipts, OTPs, and support replies) are still allowed.
  
• Businesses outside the U.S. can continue sending marketing messages to non-U.S. customers.
  
• U.S.-based businesses can still send marketing messages to non-U.S. numbers.
  

How this affects your business

If You Use a U.S.-registered WhatsApp Business Number  

• You can send marketing, utility, and authentication template messages to international (non-U.S.) customers.
  
• You cannot send marketing messages to U.S. numbers.
  
• Customer-initiated conversations are still allowed worldwide.
  

Billing and payment impact

• Prepaid credits: If you prepaid for WhatsApp marketing messages, those credits cannot be used for U.S. numbers.
  
• Refund credits: If you have purchased credits for sending marketing templates, refunds for those credits can be issued.
  
• No charges for failed messages: If your marketing message fails due to this restriction, you will not be billed.
  
• Queued messages: If a message was scheduled before April 1 but fails after that date, refund policies may vary.
  
• Marketing conversations in the U.S.: No longer billable under WhatsApp’s conversation-based pricing.
  

How this affects Zoho Desk users

If you use Zoho Desk to manage WhatsApp conversations, this change will impact:

Inbox  

• Marketing messages sent to U.S. numbers will not be delivered.
  
• Agents will see failed message notifications if they try sending marketing templates to U.S. customers.
  

 

Automation and workflows  

• Any ticket-based automation that sends WhatsApp marketing messages should be updated to exclude U.S. recipients.
  

What Zoho Desk users need to do next

To comply with this new rule and avoid message failures, Zoho Desk users should:

• Update inbox workflows to remove WhatsApp marketing for U.S. numbers.
  
• Revise automation rules to prevent failed message attempts.
  
• Train agents on these changes so they do not send marketing messages to U.S. customers. 
  

For help, contact support@zohodesk.com 

Adjusting your business workflows

• U.S. numbers will automatically be excluded from WhatsApp marketing messages.
  
• WhatsApp delivery rates will drop for U.S. numbers.
  

Can I still create WhatsApp marketing templates?

Yes, but you cannot use them for U.S. recipients.

What you need to know about creating templates  

• Templates will remain approved in Meta’s system.
  
• Exclude U.S. numbers when sending marketing messages.
  
• Templates can still be used for non-U.S. customers.
  

Restrictions on Bulk and Mass Actions for Marketing Templates in Zoho Desk

• Users are not permitted to send marketing templates in bulk or through mass actions in Zoho Desk, as this may lead to compliance and legal risks for both the customers and the Business Service Provider (BSP). These restrictions are applicable across all Zoho data centers (DCs).
  

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

What happens to existing WhatsApp marketing templates?  

Pre-approved templates remain in Meta’s system. They can still be used for non-U.S. recipients but will not be deliverable to U.S. numbers.

Will businesses be charged for failed messages?  

No, businesses will not be billed for failed WhatsApp marketing messages. If a message was queued before April 1, 2025, refund policies may vary.

Can businesses still send WhatsApp messages to U.S. customers?  

Yes, non-marketing messages such as order confirmations, receipts, and OTPs are still allowed.

How can businesses continue engaging U.S. customers?  

Encourage customer-initiated chats using Click-to-WhatsApp Ads. Use WhatsApp for transactional updates rather than promotions.

Will Meta lift this restriction in the future?  

Meta has not provided a timeline for when WhatsApp marketing may resume in the U.S. Businesses should continue monitoring Meta’s announcements for any policy changes.

Unexpected billing charges for WhatsApp marketing messages to U.S. numbers  

The message may have queued before April 1, 2025, and processed later.

Can I use Zoho Desk to send bulk or mass marketing or promotional messages via WhatsApp?

Zoho Desk supports both utility and marketing templates for WhatsApp in real-time conversations through the IM inbox. However, bulk and mass actions for marketing templates are not supported in Zoho Desk. For running campaigns or promotional activities at scale, we strongly recommend using Zoho Marketing Automation to ensure compliance with WhatsApp's policies.

Best,

Prabin

• Topic Participants

• Raj R

  

• Sticky Posts

• Zoho Desk Partners with Microsoft's M365 Copilot for seamless customer service experiences

  Hello Zoho Desk users, We are happy to announce that Zoho Desk has partnered with Microsoft's M365 to empower customer service teams with enhanced capabilities and seamless experiences for agents. Microsoft announced their partnership during their keynote

• Live Webinar - Work smarter with Zoho Desk and Zoho Workplace integration

  Hello customers! Zoho Desk and Zoho Workplace are coming together for a webinar on 14th May, 2024. Zoho Workplace is a suite of productivity apps for email, chat, docs, calls, and more at one single place. Zoho Desk is closely integrated with a few tools

• Apple iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 updates for Zoho Desk users

  Hello Zoho Desk users! Apple recently announced the release of iOS 17 and iPad OS 17. These latest OS updates will help you stay productive and efficient, through interactive and seamless user experiences. Zoho Desk has incorporated the updates to help

• Zoho Desk Cheat Sheet For The Year-End

  Check out these Zoho Desk best practices to end this year on a high and have a great one ahead! #1 Set Business (Holiday) Hours - If you have limited working hours, please make sure you restrict your business hours or set them as holidays for the coming days. Let your customers know when you will, and won't, be available. #2 Update the Annual Holiday List - Check the holidays for the new year and update the holiday schedule. Usually, holidays from the current year will be carried over for the next

• Deprecation of older versions of ASAP Mobile SDK | Zoho Desk

  Hello, everyone.    Greetings from Zoho Desk ASAP!   In order to continue to deliver the best and most secure experience to our mobile SDK users. On account of the recent enhancements and updates to the mobile SDKs, we have planned to mark the older versions

• Recent Topics

• Add subform record on data import

  I have some data pulled from analytics. I also have a "Projects" form with an "Assignments" subform linked to the "Assignments" form (not a blank form). Now when I edit a Project record, I can add new assignments manually and it will add the records in

• Update Main Form Date with Most Recent Subform Submission Date

  Hello, I have a field in my main form (equipment info) with the "date of last equipment inspection". I have a subform (equipment inspection) That wheen submitted for a piece of equipment I would like the submission date of the subform (equipment inspection)

• Need Help with MX Record Verification

  Dear Zoho Mail Support Team, I’m setting up Zoho Mail for my domain "nexiumdynamics.com" and have already added the MX, SPF, and DKIM records as instructed. The domain DNS is managed through Odoo. However, the MX record verification on Zoho Mail is still

• ¡Participa en los Zoholics Awards 2025!

  ¿Tu organización utiliza el software de Zoho de una forma innovadora? ¿Has logrado resultados dignos de noticia con nuestras aplicaciones? ¿O tienes un caso de uso especial de Zoho que te gustaría compartir con el mundo? Si es así, ¡este es tu momento

• To be able to create a report sub folder

  Hello Can we request the ability to create subfolders in report folders.

• Email Stuck in "Retry Queue" – Host Not Reachable

  Hello everyone, I’ve been encountering an issue when trying to send emails. Although the email appears in my Sent folder, it doesn’t reach the recipient, and I see the following status: In Retry Queue Temporary failure when delivering email to the recipients.

• Identify, Qualify and Retarget Potential Leads Using Zoho SalesIQ & Campaigns

  Finding the right leads can often feel like guesswork. Because not all your website visitors are worth targeting — some may just be browsing, while others may have landed in there by accident. So how do you filter out the noise and focus on those who

• Company with ZohoOne, notebook ask to upgrade to collaborate in notecards.

  Hello, we as a company have ZohoOne as our Zoho choice, but Zoho Notebook asks us to upgrade in order to collaborate in notecards, is this correct? Acording to what I've read in Zoho Notebook help, it should be included in ZohoOne, can you please clarify

• Don't Receive Email

  Hi, I would like to report a problem . One of registered email in my organization is info@kedata.id . that email is used to register into MongoDB atlas. But for that case, i have a problem which the email of verification code from MongoDB atlas haven't

• Possible to reorder Pipelines position?

  I have multiple Pipelines and want to reorder their positions, so that in the Deals module record for the Pipeline field, I have them ordered in a certain way. Is there a way to reorder the position of the Pipelines without deleting existing Pipelines

• Laravel - Failed to authenticate on SMTP server

  For some reason, I cant send e-mails from my Laravel app Error: Failed to authenticate on SMTP server with username "myuser" using the following authenticators: "LOGIN", "PLAIN". Authenticator "LOGIN" returned "Expected response code "235" but got code

• Custom View Row Limit?

  Is there a way to view more than 5 rows on a "Custom View" component on a user's homepage? I didn't see an option when creating or editing it. I'd like to be able to show the users 10 tasks at a time if possible.

• Kaizen #63 - Layout Rules in Zoho CRM

  Hello and welcome to another week of Kaizen! This week, we will be discussing Layout Rules in Zoho CRM. If you need to modify the layout of a module based on user inputs, or to show or hide sections based on the value of a specific field, we have got

• Can Zoho CRM JS SDK Send Notifications, Create Tasks & Calendar Events?

  Hello everyone! I’m just starting to explore this topic, so please excuse my beginner-level questions! Is it possible to use the JS SDK (https://help.zwidgets.com/help/latest/index.html) to: Send messages (signals, notifications) to specific employees,

• Unable to import canvas template to canvas forms

  I'm unable to import exported canvas template to canvas form, the canvas form not recognizing the template code plus the canvas import prompt title is (Create your own form page) instead of import, find the attached screenshot Please advise

• Remote Control Functionality During Screen Sharing in Zoho Cliq

  Hello Zoho Cliq Team, We would like to request the addition of remote control functionality during screen sharing sessions in Zoho Cliq. Currently, while screen sharing in Cliq is very useful, it lacks the ability for another participant to take control

• Power of Automation :: Automatically Approve/Reject the associated timelogs of Issues

  Hello Everyone, A custom function is a software code that can be used to automate a process and this allows you to automate a notification, call a webhook, or perform logic immediately after a workflow rule is triggered. This feature helps to automate

• Zoho Desk iOS and Android app update: Attachment restriction

  Hello, everyone! We are excited to introduce an option to restrict uploading certain attachment types on the Zoho Desk app. This feature allows you to specify the types of attachments are allowed to be uploaded and shared within the Zoho Desk. This can

• Zoho CRM Outlook integration: no option showing up even after installation

  I followed the instructions on this page to install the add-in: https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/crm/integrations/microsoft/ms-outlook-add-in-for-zoho-crm/articles/outlook-add-in-for-zoho-crm#Understanding_the_add-in But I don't see the options in Outlook

• Portal URL Not Working?

  When I view my Company Profile, it shows my portal URL as being not created although it has been.  For example my profile shows the following:  https://meeting.zoho.com/a/..  The directory name that I chose is missing and it appears that I need to create a new Portal URL although one already exists for my organization. When I try to visit the URL that I previously created, I receive a "Page Not Found" error.

• Improve user efficiency with Automated reminders

  When it comes to business, keeping up with the deliverables is imperative. Automated reminders help you just with that, allowing you to set up notifications that are automatically triggered to your workspace users to remind them about important updates,

• Setup Outlook for domain email address fails

  I am trying to setup outlook for one of my domains email addresses and I am unable to add the account in Outlook I get "Operation could not be completed" errors. I am using the imap.zoho.com 993 for incoming and smtp.zoho.com 465 for outgoing email. I

• Free webinar alert! Empower Customer Experience in a Changing World with Zoho Desk and Zoho Workplace

  Hello Zoho Workplace Community! We’re back with another exciting webinar—and this time, it’s all about delivering exceptional customer experiences. Join us for "Empower Customer Experience in a Changing World with Zoho Desk and Zoho Workplace," where

• Auto-sync field of lookup value

  This feature has been requested many times in the discussion Field of Lookup Announcement and this post aims to track it separately. At the moment the value of a 'field of lookup' is a snapshot but once the parent lookup field is updated the values diverge.

• Bigin iOS app update - Introducing Card Scanner and initiating WhatsApp conversations using pre-approved templates.

  Hello everyone! In the latest iOS (v1.11.3) version of the Bigin app, we have introduced the following features: Card Scanner Initiating WhatsApp conversations. Card Scanner: Our new Card Scanner feature extracts contact information from business cards.

• Check out in Meetings

  Why there is no check out in Meetings of Zoho CRM, very difficult to track

• Connecting Portals from different Zoho apps

  Hi, I note that Zoho has functionality for customer portals for several of the Zoho apps, like CRM, Projects, Desk etc. Is there any way to connect these portals?  It would be great if we could give our customers access to a portal in which they could

• Creating Email template that attaches file uploaded in specific field.

  If there's a way to do this using Zoho CRM's built-in features, then this has eluded me! I'm looking to create a workflow that automatically sends an email upon execution, and that email includes an attachment uploaded in a specific field. Email templates

• Portal permission for report only

  Hello, I have a hard time setting portal permission for my users. I have a form that is an order subform for items. I use that subform to create a filtered report for sellers to see their own orders, but at the same time I have to give them access to

• How to modify query from a DataBridge Connection

  Hello, I just installed the new DataBridge tool to import data to our Zoho Analytycs account from our local database. It works well so far, and data gets sync every day. The only issue that I found is that we do not know how to modify the query that imports

• Add Lookup Field in Tasks Module

  Hello, I have a need to add a Lookup field in addition to the ones that are already there in the Tasks module. I've seen this thread and so understand that the reason lookup fields may not be part of it is that there are already links to the tables (https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/community/topic/custom-fields-on-task-module).

• Tip of the Week #55 – Assign roles to inbox members

  Ever heard the phrase, "Right people, right access"? That’s exactly what you can achieve in Zoho TeamInbox by assigning roles to your inbox members! In any team, not everyone needs the same level of access to your shared inboxes. Some members may need

• iOS 18 is here! Discover the enhanced Bigin app with iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia.

  Hello, everyone! We are excited to be back with new features and enhancements for the Bigin app. Let us take a look at the new iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 features. The following is the list of features covered in this update: Control widgets. New app icons.

• Basic Lookup Field Update Function

  Hi! So I have no idea what I'm doing in Deluge but I need to get a custom function to run On Create or Edit that sets the value of a Lookup Field based on the contents of another field. Seems simple enough, but I have looked through dozens of other similar

• Fourth Insight - The power of Multi-Layouts

  The Wheels of Ticketing - Desk Stories The power of Multi-Layouts In the previous insights, we have established that layouts are the foundation for a ticketing system, and fields are the building blocks for the same system. Fundamentals of layouts Fields

• Filter Multi-Line Properties with Plain Large Text

  To be able to filter fields that feature Plain large text, I am only able to filter on plain small text when you offer 3 separate options.

• One notebook is on my Android phone app, but not on Web or PC app.

  This problem started in stages. At first my phone was occasionally failing to sync. Then I noticed two things added to my Phone App. One was an existing notebook had a new cover, and the other was a new Note Card with an odd text in it. These were only

• App Crash on MacBook Pro

  Hi Zoho, I am still struggling to keep Zoho Notebook stable on my Mac platform. I have sent in a couple of crash logs and I am making sure I have the latest version from the Mac App store. I love this application and really want to get it stable. The

• Share saved filters between others

  Hi, I am in charge to setup all zoho system in our company. I am preparing saved filters for everybody, but the only one can see its me. How can others see it? Thanks

• ZOHO BOOKS - RECEIVING MORE ITEMS THAN ORDERED

  Hello, When trying to enter a vendor's bill that contains items with bigger quantity than ordered in the PO (it happens quite often) - The system would not let us save the bill and show this error: "Quantity recorded cannot be more than quantity ordered." 

• Next Page