Meta has added new business directory features to WhatsApp for users in Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Colombia, and the United Kingdom.
Users of the encrypted messaging service will now be able to search for businesses by category, for example travel or banking, or search for one by name to find it. And it will potentially save people from having to look up phone numbers on websites or search their contact list.
In Brazil, the business directory search function also includes small businesses and is also testing secure chat payments in the region.
What's next for Whatsapp?
The news comes as Meta may be trying to get more revenue from the 175 million people it says use a WhatsApp business account every day, as ad revenue from its core Facebook and Instagram businesses dwindles.
Facebook announced its first drop in user numbers in February 2022, and in October 2022 saw a 4% drop in revenue year-over-year in the three months of July through September.
The tech giant began testing a payment service in Brazil in 2020, but had trouble getting approval from Brazil's central bank along with the partners needed to make it work.
In April, WhatsApp received approval from WhatsApp to expand its payment service to an additional 100 million users in the Indian market, out of the more than 400 million people in India who use the service.
We may be seeing a closer convergence between WhatsApp and the business world. At Dreamforce 2022, Salesforce said it would offer businesses a new way to communicate with customers through WhatsApp integrations with multiple Salesforce CRM applications.
Salesforce said the integration will create "more convenient, integrated, and personalized experiences between people and businesses."