WhatsApp Business API in the UAE and Saudi Arabia

To use the WhatsApp Business API in the UAE or Saudi Arabia, you set up Meta's Cloud API under your own Meta business portfolio, verify the business, get a display name approved, and send approved templates only to people who opted in. Meta charges per delivered message, by category and by the recipient's country code: from 1 October 2026 a marketing template to a +971 or +966 number costs US$0.0576 on Meta's list rate card.

This guide walks through each step for a business in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Riyadh. It reflects Meta's documentation as checked on 27 October 2026.

What do you need before you start?

1. A Meta business portfolio with your company's legal name written exactly as on your registration documents. Bilingual names are a common snag: pick the English spelling on the licence and use it everywhere.
2. Business verification, completed by an admin of the portfolio. Meta's verification screen lists the documents it accepts for your country; for a UAE company that is typically a trade licence, and for a Saudi company a commercial registration certificate, but go by what the screen shows.
3. A phone number that can receive a code by SMS or call. A new number is simplest. An existing number on the WhatsApp Business app can be moved, but check first so the chat history on the phone is not lost.
4. A display name for review (below).
5. A payment method on the WhatsApp Business account. Meta says that without one, service messages beyond the free monthly allowance are not delivered.

If you are unsure what the API is compared with the phone app, our glossary entry on the WhatsApp Business API explains it.

What does business verification change?

A new business portfolio can message 250 unique people in a moving 24 hours outside the customer service window. Business verification is one of three routes Meta lists to reach 2,000. Above that, Meta raises the limit one step at a time, within about six hours, when your message quality is high and you have used at least half of your current limit in the last seven days.

Verification also lifts the template ceiling. An unverified portfolio can hold 250 templates per account; a verified one with an approved display name can hold up to 6,000.

Display name: what gets approved?

The display name is what customers see at the top of the chat. Meta reviews it against its display name guidelines, and it should clearly be your business's own name, the one on your website and shopfront. Read Meta's guidelines before you submit, because a rejection costs a round of review.

Review runs again whenever you change the name, which you can do up to ten times in 30 days. After approval you have 14 days to re-register the number through the API, or the name has to be submitted again.

Opt-in, templates and the 24 hour window

Opt-in. Meta requires that the person clearly agrees to receive messages from your business, with your business named in the opt-in. You can collect it on a website form, in store, on paper or over a phone menu. Meta also says you must comply with applicable law, which in the UAE includes the federal data protection law summarised on our Gulf page. Honour every opt-out, whether it arrives on WhatsApp or by email.

The 24 hour window. When a customer messages you, a window opens for 24 hours and resets with each new message. Inside it you can reply in free text, including automatic replies, as long as there is a prompt, clear way to reach a person. Outside it, you can only send an approved template.

Template categories. Every WhatsApp message template is filed as marketing, utility or authentication. Utility must be non-promotional and specific to the customer, such as an order or appointment update. Add an offer and Meta treats it as marketing; it can move an approved template to marketing automatically, usually after a day's notice. One-time passcodes must go in authentication templates.

Arabic templates. Meta supports Arabic as ar and lists regional codes including ar_AE and ar_QA. It lists no Saudi variant, so Saudi businesses generally use ar. Each language is a separate template under the same name, reviewed on its own (review can take up to 24 hours) and counted against your template limit. Write the Arabic version natively rather than translating the English, and check how variables such as names, amounts and order numbers in Latin characters sit inside right-to-left text.

What does it cost in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar?

Meta's USD list rates per delivered message, effective 1 October 2026:

Points that catch people out:

• The rate follows the customer's number, not where your company is licensed. A Dubai business messaging a Saudi customer pays the Saudi rate.
• Service replies are no longer free. Since 1 October 2026, the first 1,000 service messages per business phone number each month are free, then each is charged. Utility templates sent inside an open window are charged too.
• Marketing rates rose for the UAE and Saudi Arabia on 1 October 2026. Meta can change prices only on the first day of a quarter, so check again each January, April, July and October.
• Messages from customers cost nothing, and messages that are not delivered are not charged. Volume tiers lower utility and authentication rates at high volume.

Where we fit

We set up the WhatsApp Business Platform in your own Meta account: portfolio, verification, number, display name, first templates in Arabic and English, and the webhooks into your CRM. You own every asset and can remove our access at any time. We are not a Meta partner or a Business Solution Provider. Our engineers in Chennai are 1.5 hours ahead of the UAE and 2.5 hours ahead of Saudi Arabia, so most of your working day overlaps ours.

The full scope is on our WhatsApp Business API setup page. This guide is general information, not legal advice.

If you want a number live with templates that pass review the first time, tell us what you need to send and to whom. Book a consultation.