What changed on 23 September 2026
Until this year, changing WhatsApp API provider meant a phone number migration: you disabled two-step verification and moved the number from one provider's setup to another. Many "how to migrate" guides you'll find still describe that process.
Meta replaced it. Its new account model splits your setup into two parts: a WhatsApp account that holds your phone numbers, and a Messaging account that holds templates, billing and webhooks. The model became generally available on 23 September 2026 and reached all businesses by mid-October 2026. Each provider you work with gets its own Messaging account, while your WhatsApp account, and the number in it, stays yours.
"A WhatsApp account (WAAC) can be shared with more than one partner… The number does not move, conversations are uninterrupted, and there is no migration to perform."
Source: Meta, Updates to WhatsApp Business accounts (opened 26 October 2026). Meta's own phone number migration page now says it describes the previous model and doesn't apply to accounts on the new one.
Meta also says sharing is additive. Whether you keep your previous provider connected or remove it later is your decision, and neither is required before a new provider can onboard you.
What carries over and what doesn't
Meta's asset table for the new model lists what stays with the number and what belongs to each provider's Messaging account. Here it is in plain terms, with the things that live inside your old provider's tool added at the bottom.
| Item | After you switch | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Phone number | Stays | Nothing. It doesn't move. |
| Display name | Stays | Nothing. |
| Number quality rating | Stays | Nothing. |
| Messaging limit | Stays | Shared by every provider connected to the number while more than one is connected. |
| Business verification | Stays | Nothing. It sits with your business portfolio. |
| The chat thread on your customer's phone | Stays | Nothing. Customers see one continuous conversation. |
| Message templates | Don't carry over | We recreate them on the new Messaging account. Quality history doesn't come with them.Meta: templates "are not shared across Messaging accounts". |
| Billing and payment method | New | You add a payment method to the new Messaging account. Meta bills you directly. |
| Chat history in your old provider's inbox | Doesn't carry over | Export it before you remove the old provider. |
| Contacts, tags and opt-in records | Don't carry over | Export them as CSV. We import contacts into the new inbox. |
| Chatbot flows, automations and broadcast lists | Don't carry over | We rebuild them. Save exports or screenshots of the logic first. |
| Integrations (CRM, shop, payments) | Don't carry over | We connect WhatsApp to your systems via their APIs. |
| Prepaid credits with your old provider | Stay with that provider | Use them up, or check its refund terms, before you cancel. |
Source for the first eight rows: Meta, Updates to WhatsApp Business accounts. The rows about your old provider's inbox, contacts, automations and credits are our reading: they live in that provider's software, not in your WhatsApp account, and the Cloud API doesn't hand past messages to a new provider.
Why templates are the main job
Templates are the pre-approved messages you send outside the 24-hour customer service window: order updates, reminders, marketing. In the new model they belong to the Messaging account they were created in. We recreate them on the new Messaging account. Meta also offers a Template Migration API to copy them, and warns that copied templates have their "quality ratings and messaging tier reset to baseline, requiring a ramp-up period of approximately 2–4 weeks."
In practice we treat the switch as a chance to tidy up: drop templates nobody sends, fix ones that were wrongly categorised (a utility message filed as marketing costs you more), and recreate the rest. Then we watch template quality closely for the first few weeks.
What's shared while two providers are connected
Meta says that when several partners share a number, "they share the phone number's throughput capacity", and the messaging limit is shared across all partners on that number. If you keep your old provider connected while we test, plan big broadcasts for after the cutover, not during it.
Source: Meta, Updates to WhatsApp Business accounts; Messaging limits.
What to export before you switch
Your WhatsApp account comes with you. Everything you built inside your old provider's software doesn't. Export these while you still have access:
- Inbox history. Conversation transcripts, notes and attachments you need for records or disputes. After you remove the old provider, you may lose access to them.
- Contacts and opt-ins. Phone numbers, names, tags, custom fields, and who agreed to receive marketing and when. Keep the opt-out list too, so nobody who said stop gets a message.
- Template list. Each template's name, category, language, body text, variables, buttons and header media. This makes recreating them quick.
- Chatbot and automation logic. Keywords, menus, routing rules and any WhatsApp Flows, as exports or screenshots.
- Integrations and webhooks. A list of what your old provider connects to (shop, CRM, payment links, Zapier or Make scenarios) and the webhook URLs involved.
- Campaign results. Past broadcast reports, if you want a baseline to compare against.
Meta's new-model guidance assumes your own business owns the WhatsApp account. Open Meta Business Suite and look under Settings, then Accounts, then WhatsApp accounts. If the account sits in your old provider's business instead of yours, talk to us before you plan anything. We'll work out the route with you, but we can't promise the outcome in advance.
How the switch works, step by step
- Tell us what you run todayYour provider, number, templates, automations and the systems they touch. We confirm your business owns the WhatsApp account and agree what we're rebuilding.
- Export from your old providerInbox history, contacts and opt-ins, templates and automation logic, using the list above.
- Share your WhatsApp account with CodeswopYou run Meta's Embedded Signup from our setup link and pick your existing number. This shares your account with Codeswop and creates a separate Messaging account for your work with us. Meta says re-registering a number that is already registered "will silently pass".
- Add your payment methodYou add a payment method to the new Messaging account, following Meta's guide Add a credit card to your WhatsApp Business Platform account. Meta says this has to be in place before you can begin messaging, and it bills you directly from then on.
- We recreate templates and rebuild the restTemplates go to Meta for approval. We rebuild your automations and connect WhatsApp to your systems via their APIs, and import your contacts.
- Test while your old provider is still connectedWe test on your real number with a small group, and agree a cutover time so customers only get one set of replies.
- Cut over, then remove the old providerWhen you're happy, you remove your old provider from the WhatsApp account and cancel with them.
Disabling two-step verification belonged to the old migration process, which Meta says doesn't apply under the new model. Meta is also deprecating the 6-digit two-factor authentication (2FA) PIN for eligible Cloud API numbers.
One catch Meta mentions: if your business still shares a previous partner's credit line, you may see an error when you try to switch to a new partner. We check for this with you in step 1.
Source: Meta, Onboarding changes in the new account model; Embedded Signup overview; Onboard WhatsApp Business app users (credit lines).
Timeline
Most of the time goes into rebuilding, not into the WhatsApp account. A rough shape:
| Stage | What happens | What sets the pace |
|---|---|---|
| Before | Audit, ownership check, exports | How much you built in your old tool |
| Day one | You share the account through Embedded Signup and add your payment method | You, with a short call if you want us on the line |
| Build | Templates submitted, automations rebuilt, integrations connected | Meta's template review and the systems we're connecting to |
| Parallel run | Testing on the live number with the old provider still connected | Your confidence |
| First weeks after cutover | Template quality builds up again | Meta says migrated templates take about 2–4 weeks to ramp up |
We'll give you a dated plan after the first call, once we know what you're running. We won't quote a timeline before that.
Switching from Wati or Twilio specifically
The Meta side is the same for every provider. What differs is how you were billed and what lived in their software.
| Per message to an SA number | Marketing | Utility | Who bills you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meta's rate | US$0.0379 | US$0.0095 | Meta |
| WatiPublished SA rate card dated 1 October 2026 | US$0.0606 | US$0.0171 | Wati, from prepaid credits |
| TwilioPublished pricing, "current as of September 2026" | Meta's rate plus US$0.005 per message, inbound or outbound | Twilio, on its invoice | |
| Euphony | US$0.0379 | US$0.0095 | Meta, directly. We add nothing. |
Meta's rates from its pricing page and rate card effective 1 October 2026. Service messages cost US$0.0095 after the first 1,000 free per number per month. Wati: wati.io/pricing and the SA rate card it links to (dated 1 October 2026). Competitor prices checked 26 October 2026. Twilio: twilio.com/en-us/whatsapp/pricing. Competitor prices change, so check their current pages. Euphony charges for building and running your setup: from R4,950 ex VAT a month.
- From Wati: your automations, broadcast lists and integrations live in Wati, so export them. Wati's pricing FAQ says it doesn't refund subscription payments or credits, so time your cancellation around your billing date and credit balance. The full Wati switching guide.
- From Twilio: if you built on Twilio's API, your logic lives in your own code, which we adapt to the Cloud API or rebuild on our platform. Twilio's self sign-up docs ask you to "allow Twilio to manage your WABA" (your WhatsApp account), so check ownership first. The full Twilio switching guide.
What you get after the switch
Switching is the start, not the product. Once your number is connected to our platform, we build WhatsApp into the systems you already run:
- A shared team inbox where a person can take over and automation pauses.
- Payment links in the chat through Paystack or Yoco, confirmed when the payment lands.
- WhatsApp Flows with live data from your systems, for quotes, bookings and claims.
- Custom connections to your CRM, ERP or own software. See integrations.
- Marketing messages to opted-in contacts, with sent, delivered and read results for each campaign.
This page is for businesses already on the WhatsApp Business API. If you use the WhatsApp Business app on your phone, the route is different: we don't run the app and the API on the same number. Start with the WhatsApp Business API in South Africa.
Questions about switching
Can I keep my WhatsApp number if I switch from Wati or Twilio?
Yes. Since 23 September 2026, Meta's new account model lets you share your WhatsApp account with more than one provider. The number doesn't move, and Meta says conversations are uninterrupted. Message templates are the main thing you recreate.
Will my customers notice the switch?
They shouldn't. Your number and display name stay the same, and their existing chat thread with you continues on their phone. What changes is the system behind the number.
Do I lose my message templates?
They don't come across on their own. In Meta's model, templates belong to the Messaging account they were created in, and each provider gets its own Messaging account. We recreate them on the new Messaging account. Meta also offers a Template Migration API for copying templates, and says copied templates start again at baseline quality and take about 2 to 4 weeks to ramp up.
Do I lose my chat history?
Your customers keep their chat thread on their phones. The history stored in your old provider's inbox doesn't come across to a new provider, so export it before you remove the old provider.
Do I have to cancel Wati or Twilio first?
No. Meta says sharing is additive: you can keep your old provider connected while the new one is set up, and remove it when you're ready. Your messaging limit and throughput are shared between providers while both are connected.
Do I still need to disable two-step verification to switch?
That step belonged to the old phone number migration process, which Meta says doesn't apply under the new account model. Because the number isn't moving, there's no migration to perform.
Who bills me for messages after I switch to Euphony?
Meta does, directly. Codeswop is a Meta Tech Provider, so you add your own payment method to your Messaging account and Meta charges you its published rates. Euphony adds nothing to message costs and charges for the event storming session, the build and a monthly plan. See pricing.
What if my old provider's business owns my WhatsApp account?
Then the simple sharing route may not be open to you. Meta's new-model guidance assumes the business owns its own WhatsApp account. Check who owns it in Meta Business Suite before you plan the switch, and talk to us if it isn't your business.