WhatsApp for Business launched in India, here’s how to setup your account

WhatsApp's all-new app -- WhatsApp for Business -- is now available in India. Users in the country can download the app from Google Play Store. The app, after months of testing, was made official late last week for select countries. WhatsApp for Business app allows small businesses to interact with customers as well as manage their presence on the platform. The Facebook-owned company introduced the app in September last year and started testing it with some companies in India and other regions. Now that the app is officially out, here's every detail about the app that you need to know...

WhatsApp for Business app aims to make it easier for small businesses to communicate with their customers.

In the official blog post, the company said that India and Brazil are two of its biggest markets. The company has now made the app available for SMEs in India. The app is available for download on Google Play Store.

Other countries it has been rolled out in include US, UK, Italy, Indonesia and Mexico.

The logo of the app has also been modified to show a 'B' inside the WhatsApp logo, clearing out the app’s intention. This will also help users to recoginise that the message is from a business account.

WhatsApp for Business is build on the same platform as the WhatsApp Messenger, it however, boasts of some additional features as well. These include Verified Profiles along with features like Quick Replies, Greeting Messages and Away Messages. Businesses can also access messaging statistics for a given period of time.

WhatsApp started the pilot program in September last year. In India, the company reportedly tested the feature with BookMyShow and MakeMyTrip.

WhatsApp for Business app is so far available only for Android users. However, the company has said that it plans to roll out the app to other platforms as well. However, it has so far not given any timeline for this.

Yes, WhatsApp for Business is completely free for now. The app can be downloaded free of cost from Google Play Store and there is no in-app purchases to access restricted content or features.

If you are not a business owner, you don’t need to to download any new app on your smartphones to access this. Users can continue using the existing WhatsApp app to get in touch with the business’ accounts. The businesses, however, will need to download the app and register themselves before getting in touch with their customers.

With this new app, companies can create their own profile and feed information such as location, business category, description, email address, website, business hours and more. It might take some time to get the account verified though.

The new WhatsApp app also allows users to track information like the number of messages they have sent, the ones delivered, messages read and received across groups and individual chats. Users can also send and receive messages with WhatsApp Business on desktops.