Official Business Account (OBA) or green badge
Display Name
Previously, only verified badge holders could have their approved display name appear in chats with customers. From 2024, any business that has a record of high quality messaging, has passed the Display Name Review, upon meeting the necessary criteria, will have their display name automatically shown in the chat.
Please note that this feature is completely handled by Meta and it is being rolled out gradually. We do not have any information on whether it will be applied to businesses.
Read our Business Verification documentation.
How to see if a channel has OBA
In the 360dialog Partner Hub
When clicking in "Show details", you will see a green badge next to the Display Name of the Official Business Accounts:
In the 360dialog Partner API
When using the Get partner channels endpoint, you will see the information under the is_oba parameter.
Types of accounts
A WhatsApp Business Account is your company’s way to communicate directly with customers. There are two types of WhatsApp Enterprise Accounts. The Business Account and the Official Business Account. They often get confused, because of course the simple Business Account also has to be verified by WhatsApp, therefore is it still is somehow official. However, the term "official" here is reserved for a certain amount of Business Accounts that meet certain criteria.
WhatsApp Business Account
Any account using the WhatsApp Business API or the WhatsApp enterprise app will automatically be listed as a Business Account. WhatsApp verifies the authenticity of a brand for each account in the WhatsApp Business API.
If your WhatsApp Account is a Business Account, the Display Name is only shown in the Contacts view (in a smaller font size). In all other views, the phone number is displayed. As long as the number is not saved to contacts only the number is shown. But WhatsApp made it easier to save Business Accounts. The user just has to click on the number, the WhatsApp profile information opens up and when clicking on "adding contact" all the details are pre-filled automatically.
If you have a verified Meta Business Account, the Display Name will be shown to all users instead of the phone number.
Official WhatsApp Business Account
In contrast to the regular Business Account, the Official Business Account will receive a green checkmark badge in its profile and the name of the business is visible in the chat list, chat screens and contacts view instead of the phone number, even if the user hasn't added the business to their address book.
This is WhatsApp's way of confirming that an authentic, reputable brand is the owner of this account. Only a few companies will have an official company account. The decision is based on a variety of factors, such as whether the brand is notable. It is not possible to pay to turn a Business account into an Official business account.
Requirements for approval
Business Verification
Businesses can only apply for OBA after successfully going through Business Verfication.
Understanding Notability
Notability requires a business to represent a well-known, often searched brand or entity. This should not be taken as a signal of the authenticity of the business. A business is considered authentic if they have gone through the Business Verification which verifies the business as a legal entity and their access to the business.
Notability, on the other hand, reflects a substantial presence in online news articles. Notability is assessed based on an account’s presence in news articles from publications with sizable audiences. Meta does not consider paid or promotional content as sources for review, including business or app listings.
Official business accounts are issued at the phone number and display name level. Meta assesses notability for the Display Name of the business account that is requesting OBA status —If the display name is changed after receiving the OBA status, the account will need to go through the approval process again.
Additionally, previous OBA approvals within a WhatsApp Business Account do not guarantee approval for other numbers (with different display names) associated with that account. If your WABA contains one main parent brand and the phone number associated with that brand meet notability requirements, we suggest updating the display names for the child brands as follows: '{{sub-brand name}} by {{notable name}}'.
Denied Requests
If your OBA request has been denied, it means the Meta team has carefully reviewed your account, and unfortunately, your account is not eligible for the OBA status at this time. If your request is rejected, you can submit a new request after 30 days.
In the meantime, this decision doesn't limit your ability to share your business details. Each phone number also has a business profile which includes profile picture, email, website, and business description. These are fields that you can edit at any time.
Application process
Businesses can apply to OBAs directly through their WhatsApp Manager or request 360dialog's expertise with this process.
Important: When a number receives an OBA status, this status is tied to the current Display Name of the account. If the display name needs to be changed, we recommend it is done before getting the OBA, otherwise a Meta appeal is needed.
Applying by themselves
Clients can apply to OBA by themselves in their Profile section on the WhatsApp Manager. To get to the Profile section, they should go to Phone numbers > Settings.
Click on Submit Request Button and fill out the required information. You can submit up to 5 supporting links to show that the business is notable. It's important to choose them carefully, since you can only submit a new request after 30 days if it is rejected.
Please keep in mind important requirements to strengthen your case before submitting it for approval:
Clear information on your website (about products and services, mentioning your display name)
Your display name should match your website
Have at least 3 external media coverage links from newspapers, magazines, etc. Do not use links of your own website, or articles older than 12 months, these are not valid.
Having a high number of likes in your Facebook page can help you prove relevance
Adding number of employees and profitability can help you prove relevance
Applying with 360dialog or appealing a decision
Clients that created their accounts with Classic Signup can only go through the process of requesting an OBA via a Partner. The same happens for clients that wish to appeal an OBA decision.
Minimum requirements to submit an OBA request
Verified Business Manager with an approved Display Name that is supported by the client’s external branding (Business Manager cannot belong to another company or agency, and the display name cannot be under review or rejected)
The number quality must be ‘high’ at the time the application is made and the minimum Messaging Limit is 1k.
Brand doesn't violate WhatsApp's policies, especially its Commerce Policy
Company needs to have more than 500 employees and/or $50 million revenue/year
The 2FA should be enabled at the moment of application
If appealing a decision: number of the initial request with Meta
Please note that 360dialog cannot guarantee that any account will be promoted to an Official Business Account. The review process is conducted by the WhatsApp API Support Team and can take up to 7 days.
To submit a request, please file a ticket with our support team.
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