How to Migrate Your WhatsApp Business API Number to Another Provider (2026, New Account Model)

From September 23, 2026, Meta began moving every business to a new WhatsApp account model, reaching all businesses by mid-October 2026. Your phone number now lives in a WhatsApp account you own, while templates and billing live in a separate Messaging account per provider. Meta says number migration between partners isn't supported in the new model. Instead, you share your WhatsApp account with the new provider: the number stays connected and conversations continue. The new provider gets its own Messaging account, so templates must be recreated or copied, and billing is set up again.

For years, switching WhatsApp API providers in India meant a formal number migration: turning off two-step verification, starting the move from the new provider, and hoping templates came across. Meta's account model update changes this.

The old WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) is split into two:

Meta's own words: "A WhatsApp account (WAAC) can be shared with more than one partner, so a client who wants to work with you shares their existing WAAC instead. The number does not move, conversations are uninterrupted, and there is no migration to perform."

Meta also notes the rollout is staged. Until your business is migrated, WhatsApp Manager may still show the older single-WABA view.

According to Meta, these don't change:

• Display name, quality rating and messaging limits (limits stay at portfolio level and are shared across partners on the number)
• Business verification (it sits on your business portfolio)
• Conversation history (with the phone number)
• Throughput, which stays at the number level and is shared if several partners use it

1. Templates. They belong to the Messaging account they were created in. The new provider's Messaging account starts empty. Recreate them, or use Meta's Template Migration API to copy them. Meta says migrated templates' quality ratings and tier reset, with a ramp-up of roughly 2–4 weeks, so plan big campaigns accordingly.
2. Billing. Each Messaging account has its own payment method. Add your card, or accept the new provider's credit line. Meta's docs on managing credit lines explain how partner credit works.
3. Integrations. Shopify, Google Calendar, CRM, Slack and chatbot flows must be rebuilt in the new tool.
4. Inbox data. Notes, tags, assignments and contact attributes in the old provider's software aren't Meta data. Export them before you leave.

1. Choose the new provider and confirm they support Meta's new account model and Embedded Signup.
2. Export from the old tool: contacts with opt-in dates, tags, chatbot scripts, template texts, campaign history.
3. Start the new provider's Embedded Signup and pick your existing business portfolio and phone number. Meta's onboarding changes say clients already onboarded with one partner can onboard with another using their existing number.
4. Set up billing on the new Messaging account (your card or their credit line).
5. Recreate or copy templates and get them approved before you switch traffic.
6. Rebuild flows and integrations, then test with your team's numbers.
7. Switch traffic: point your website buttons, Shopify app and ads at the new tool.
8. Decide on the old provider. Meta says sharing is additive: you can keep the old provider on the number during transition and remove them when ready.
9. Close the old account: settle wallet or invoice balances, remove partner access, cancel the subscription.

During the staged rollout, some accounts may still be on the old model. Meta's legacy migration guide described a formal migration that required:

• An approved display name with no pending change
• Two-step verification disabled on the number before migrating
• One number at a time (no migrating many numbers together)

It kept the display name, quality rating, messaging limit, Official Business Account status and approved templates. Ask your new provider which path applies to your account today.

If you're on the free WhatsApp Business app (not the API), this is onboarding, not switching. Meta's coexistence onboarding lets you keep using the app on the same number while connecting it to a provider, with recent chat history synced. Coexistence numbers have a fixed throughput of 20 messages per second.

If you're switching to WatsBerry, onboarding runs through Meta's Embedded Signup on the official Cloud API. You keep your number, and I'll help you rebuild templates, chatbot flows, Shopify and Google Calendar automations before traffic moves. Billing is pass-through: Meta bills WhatsApp usage to your own payment method at Meta's rates (0% markup), and WatsBerry charges a separate platform plan (₹1,599 / ₹2,999 / ₹5,999 per month + GST). That means no wallet balance to strand next time you switch.

Thinking of switching? Tell me your current provider and setup via watsberry.com, and I'll share a switching plan for your account. Join the waitlist for the 14-day free plan before you move.

Abbas Ali, Founder, WatsBerry