While selecting a phone number to register a new WhatsApp Sender, is it possible to use an existing Twilio number already configured for SMS messaging service.
If that is feasible, are there any drawbacks or points to consider.
If that is feasible, are there any drawbacks or points to consider.
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I am building a service where we need to create a new phone number to each new account and later act as its Whatsapp intermediary. So every new user can have their own Whatsapp number and see chats (and interract with them) in our external app. Basically a client for whatsapp numbers. Is there a way to do it with Twilio or Vonage? I tried to but it seems like it allows to build such functionalities only with one, WhatsappBusiness account. But it doesn't allow to scale new numbers programmatically.
Twilio developer evangelist here.
We do have an alternative process for creating accounts that service other businesses through WhatsApp if you are an independent software vendor or system integrator. However, it's still not an API process. I believe this is because there is an amount of back and forth between you, Twilio and Facebook to set up, review, and approve each business account and number.
The restrictive nature of this is on Facebook's side, since they have stricter rules for how WhatsApp can be used to engage users. So I don't imagine any partner will be able to offer this process entirely through an API.
i am using twilio messaging service in my webapp. Here, each phone number have its own messaging service. I want to associate all phone numbers to 1 messaging service. Is it possible to send and receive messages on each phone number using 1 messaging service?
Twilio developer evangelist here.
According to this article:
A Twilio Messaging Service can contain up to 400 Twilio message senders by default, including phone numbers, short codes, Alpha Sender ID, and WhatsApp senders.
And if you need more, you can contact support.
I have been trying to personalize my messages and send in masses to my customers in google spreadsheet through whatsapp. Have been trying to work on this with an expert but it seems that currently they only allow twilio number which we have to buy from them. May I check whether any of you know when twilio will be able to enable non-twilio number(our personal contact number) for the whatsapp?
WhatsApp does not support certain uses cases, so verify this is this a promotional use case.
You will need to WhatsApp enable a Twilio number. Based on where you are located, porting your number to Twilio may be an option.
WhatsApp Commerce Policy
What use cases and businesses are allowed to use WhatsApp on Twilio.
I was wondering if its possible to allow people to text to a twilio number without charging them sms charges by their carrier? So, for each text message that is sent to a twilio phone number, I will cover the cost. Basically, free or charge text messaging for users to a specific twilio number.
Twilio developer evangelist here.
We support incoming SMS messages on toll free numbers in certain countries, so yes!
I recommend opening up the advanced search in the phone number console and checking the boxes for toll free and SMS.
On WhitePages.com they have a mechanism in place that facilitates payment by entering your telephone number. After you enter your number, you get an SMS that instructs you to enter "GO" in order to complete the transaction. Following that reply with the purchase you've made, you get another message suggesting that for a certain monthly fee you can use the service in an unlimited fashion. I had not seen anything with quite those dynamics before and I'm curious of what service(s) one would use to construct a payment system like this for a Ruby on Rails app?
I am particularly interested in a platform that allows this kind of payment from as many countries as possible as I currently use Twilio for SMS messaging on another app.
Without knowing the full details of what WhitePages.com offer it sounds like they're using Premium SMS as a method of collecting payment from a mobile.
After you've entered your telephone number, they'll send you a text with the originator set to a premium shortcode (rather than from a long number). The reply you send back to the premium shortcode is deemed your acceptance to be charged more than your standard network SMS rate. The amount of the charge can vary but should be made obvious to subscribers before they are charged. This Mobile-Originated reply text (MO) is what causes the charge to be taken from your mobile telephone number bill.
Premium subscription services can then subsequently generate further charges whilst the user is still subscribed by sending messages from the premium shortcode. The act of receiving these messages causes a charge to be applied to your mobile telephone bill. These are deemed Mobile-Terminated texts (MT).
Premium SMS is not a simple solution for collecting payment for a number of reasons.
You often only receive a small percentage of what the user is being charged on their bill as the mobile networks keep a cut for offering the service.
As this relies on premium shortcodes you may have to accept you'll have different numbers for each country you want to operate in as you'll have to organise premium shortcodes in each country.
There's different regulations regarding Premium services that you need to be aware of in each country. For example, users need to be able to unsubscribe / opt-out of premium services once subscribed so premium services often have to comply with receiving 'STOP' and 'STOP ALL' messages from users.
As far as I know, Twilio doesn't support premium shortcodes at this time. There are other SMS Gateways which do support premium SMS but you won't get a single solution to fit any country you wish to operate in. Interacting with this kind of system is usually no more complex than sending and receiving normal SMS so the task of creating this with a Ruby on Rails app should be no more complex.
Normal SMS is pretty much globally universal. Premium SMS is an additional country specific feature.