WhatsApp Business API in Indonesia: How It Works, What It Costs and How Online Sellers Use It
The WhatsApp Business API connects your business number to software instead of one phone. Indonesian sellers use it to answer every chat automatically, send order confirmations and delivery updates, confirm COD orders and take payment by link. You get it through a provider such as AeroChat, which connects your number with Meta’s embedded signup. Meta charges per delivered message at Indonesia’s own rate, and you can keep the WhatsApp Business app on the same number.
WhatsApp is where many Indonesian shoppers already talk to sellers. The free WhatsApp Business app works while one or two admins can keep up. Once chats come in faster than they can reply, or you want order messages sent from your store automatically, you need the API. Meta calls it the WhatsApp Business Platform, and the version most businesses use today is the Cloud API.
WhatsApp Business app vs the API
| WhatsApp Business app | WhatsApp Business API | |
|---|---|---|
| Who replies | You or your admins, on a phone or linked devices | Software such as AeroChat, plus your team in a shared inbox |
| Automation | Greeting, away message and quick replies | Full workflows connected to your store, payment gateway and courier |
| Messages after 24 hours | Typed and sent by hand | Approved templates (utility, marketing, authentication) |
| Cost | Free app | Meta’s per-message fees plus your provider’s plan |
With coexistence you do not have to choose. You keep the app on your phone and run the API on the same number. More detail in WhatsApp app vs API.
How Meta prices WhatsApp messages for Indonesia
As of November 2026, from Meta’s WhatsApp Business Platform pricing documentation:
- Per message. Meta charges per delivered message sent by the business, not per conversation. This model started on 1 July 2025.
- By category. Template messages are marketing, utility or authentication, and each has its own rate.
- By country. The rate depends on the country calling code of the recipient’s number. Indonesia (+62) is its own market on Meta’s rate card.
- Customer messages are free. Messages customers send you cost nothing.
- Service replies. From 1 October 2026, each business phone number gets 1,000 free service messages a month. Further service messages are charged. Utility templates sent inside an open 24-hour window are charged from the same date.
Meta publishes the current rates in its rate cards. See WhatsApp pricing for how the categories and the 24-hour window work, and AeroChat pricing for the plans.
What you need to start
- A Meta business portfolio.
- A phone number that can receive a verification code. It can be the number you already use in the WhatsApp Business app.
- A display name that meets Meta’s rules.
You can start before your business is verified with Meta. Verification raises your messaging limits. See how to get the WhatsApp Business API and choosing a solution provider.
What Indonesian online sellers run on it with AeroChat
- Answer every chat from store data. Stock, price, ongkir and order status, from Shopify, WooCommerce, Wix or a Google Sheets store, in Bahasa Indonesia or English.
- Confirm COD orders before dispatch. See cash on delivery confirmation in Indonesia.
- Take payment in the chat. AeroChat sends a Midtrans, Xendit or DOKU payment link and detects the payment automatically. Airwallex is built in (open an account if you don’t have one).
- Send order and delivery updates as utility templates. See order confirmation and delivery updates.
- Book the courier through AnterAja, Lalamove or GrabExpress.
- Send broadcasts to customers who opted in, as marketing templates. See WhatsApp broadcasts.
Customer: Kak, pesanan #4410 sudah dikirim belum? (example)
AeroChat: Untuk keamanan, boleh konfirmasi nomor HP yang dipakai saat pesan, Kak?
Customer: 0812 3456 7890
AeroChat: Terima kasih, Kak. Pesanan #4410 sudah dikirim kemarin dan sedang dalam perjalanan ke Bandung. Ini link pelacakannya (example).
In the store: nothing changes. AeroChat matched the phone number on the order, then read its status and tracking.
Copy this into AeroChat
When a customer asks about an order on WhatsApp, follow these steps.
- Ask for the phone number or email they ordered with, and match it to the order in our store.
- If it matches, tell them the order status and send the tracking link.
- If the order has not shipped yet, tell them the expected dispatch date from our shipping rules.
- If it does not match, ask them to check the number and try again. Never share order details without a match.
- If they want to change the address and the order is not packed yet, update it and read it back.
Reply in the customer’s language. Use “Kak” when the customer does.
How to set it up with AeroChat
- Sign up for AeroChat and start your 7-day free trial.
- Connect your WhatsApp number through Meta’s embedded signup. Keep the WhatsApp Business app on it with coexistence if you want.
- Connect your store. Shopify, WooCommerce and Wix are built in.
- Describe your workflows in your own words, in any language, or paste the recipe above. Add your gateway or courier keys in the dashboard.
- Submit your order templates for approval and turn the workflows on.
Questions
Can I keep using the WhatsApp Business app?
Yes. With coexistence you keep the app on your phone and use the API on the same number. Chats stay in sync between the two.
How do I send messages after 24 hours?
Outside the 24-hour customer service window, a business-initiated message needs an approved template, utility or marketing, and the customer’s opt-in. See message templates and template approval.
Can I get the green tick?
Verification with Meta is a step towards it. See the official business account guide.
Which provider should I use in Indonesia?
Compare what each provider connects to, not only the message price. See the best WhatsApp chatbot in Indonesia and the best WhatsApp API provider for online sellers.
Using a different system? If it has a public API, it connects to AeroChat the same way: describe what you want, paste in its key, and it runs.
Can’t find your tool? Message us in the chat on this page and we’ll tell you how it connects.
Put your WhatsApp number on the API
Sign up, connect your number with embedded signup, and send your own number an order question in Bahasa Indonesia.
Start your 7-day free trial. No credit card needed.
On Shopify? Install AeroChat from the Shopify App Store.