Meta Corporation has prepared a major update to the WhatsApp Business ecosystem for businesses, which came into effect on September 23, 2026. The new feature is called WhatsApp Account Model Evolution or WAME. Read our article to learn more about this feature and what has changed.
Table of Contents
How it worked before and what’s changing
Meta is rethinking its approach to WhatsApp Business accounts and completely redesigning their structure. With WAME, you can now connect multiple service providers to a single WhatsApp Business number and assign each provider to the message categories your business uses when communicating with customers. All from the comfort of a single WhatsApp Business number.
Before this update, everything was fairly simple: a client connected to a service provider (BSP), and a WhatsApp Business API (WABA) account was created for them. A phone number was linked to this account. If a business worked with multiple providers simultaneously, it was necessary to create multiple numbers and receive the same number of conversations with the same client, which was inconvenient.
⚠️Important!
The main change is that companies can now use a single phone number and connect multiple partners with their services on a single number in WhatsApp Business. Your customers will receive a unified chat history with your brand, while each partner will work from their own messaging account and have their own billing, message templates, and configuration settings that are not visible to others.
Thanks to this new feature, you can forget about this, as the WABA model will now be divided into two levels:
- WhatsApp Account (WAAC), which will replace WABA
WAAC will store a phone number that can be used with multiple providers
2. Paid Messaging Account (PMA)
Each partner connected to a WAAC number will receive their own PMA with unique message templates, payment method, and billing settings.
Let’s break down the changes in the table:
| Setting | Before: WABA | Now: WAAC + PMA |
| Structure | One level: WABA | Two levels: WAAC (WhatsApp account) and PMA (paid messaging account) |
| Phone number | Connected to one WABA and one provider | Stored in WAAC, it can be used with multiple providers |
Providers (partners) | The number is served by one provider | Several partners can be connected to one WAAC number. |
| Message templates | General at WABA level | Each partner has their own, in their PMA |
| Payment method | One for WABA | Each partner has their own, in their PMA |
Billing | Configurable at WABA level | Each partner has their own settings, in their PMA |
How does this benefit businesses?
Thanks to the new structure, companies will be able to distribute tasks across multiple partners using a single number and a shared conversation history with the client.
This means, for example, that a company can hire multiple providers separately for marketing emails, service notifications, and customer support, while using Meta tools like Meta Business Agent for communication with the client. The client sees the same number and a single, continuous conversation, even if different message types are handled by different providers.
The main new feature is conversation routing
Conversation routing deserves special mention, allowing companies to create a unified and clear context when multiple partners are involved in a WhatsApp conversation.
This new feature will give businesses the power to manage the flow of conversations with clients and decide who will access and share them. This new feature will allow for seamless routing and transfer of client chats between partners, as well as create an AI overview of all conversations for quick access by others.
Providers may have different responsibilities when communicating with clients, but for the client, the conversation remains seamless and uninterrupted.
Let’s break down how conversation routing works in a table:
| Option | Hiw this helps the business |
| One context | When a conversation involves multiple partners or respondents, everyone has a common and understandable context. |
| Chat management | The business itself decides how the conversation with the client develops |
| Access control | Businesses decide who can talk |
| Chat transfer | Customer chats can be smoothly routed and transferred between partners |
| AI review of chats | A brief overview of all correspondence so that the next provider can quickly get up to speed |
| A complete dialogue for the client | Services from providers may be different, but the client sees one continuous correspondence |
What’s changing in the Meta interface
The Meta Business Suite will feature two separate sections instead of viewing a single WhatsApp account:
- The “WhatsApp Accounts” (WAC) section, where you can manage client phone numbers, conversation routing, and partner permissions
- The “Paid Messaging Accounts (PMA)” section, where you can view the current WABA ID, templates, analytics, payment settings, and other specific information for each provider
Meta maintains complete data privacy – each provider account is unique and has its own payment method that cannot be shared with another provider.
We’ll show all the new features in a table:
| Setting | WhatsApp Accounts (WAAC) | Paid Messaging Accounts (PMA) |
| What is it for | Partner number management, dialog routing, and partner permissions | Current WABA ID, templates, analytics, payment setup, and other provider-specific information |
| What is configured here? | Transferring access to the number and partner rights | Message templates, analytics, payment methods, and billing |
| Notifications to partners | Webhook | — |
| Affiliation | Client numbers to which partners connect | Unique for each partner |
| Billing | — | Billed and paid separately for each partner |
| Payment method | — | One payment method per messaging account |
| Transfer to another partner | Access to the number can be granted or revoked | An account linked to one partner’s payment method cannot be transferred to another. |
Connecting a New Number
The Embedded Signup process will also be updated and will work according to a new scheme: when a business first connects a number to WABA or activates Coexistence mode, the number is verified and a WAAC is created for it. After registration, Meta automatically creates a PMA for the corresponding provider.
⚠️Important!
There is no need to create a new WABA account to connect another service provider.
Porting a Number to Another Provider
Previously, to change providers, you had to create a new WABA account and port your number to it. Now, it works differently. To transfer a number to a new provider, a company goes through the Embedded Signup process with that provider. After confirming with an OTP code, they enter their existing WhatsApp number, and Meta automatically creates a separate PMA for the new provider.
To disconnect from your previous provider, simply delete their messaging ID in WhatsApp Manager. The previous partner will receive a notification via a webhook from Meta, just as is currently the case when deleting a partner.
What should accounts do now?
Nothing. Companies and technical providers do not need to take any additional action to transition. Meta began automatically migrating all existing accounts to the new structure on September 23 and will complete the process by mid-October of this year. The full transition to the new structure is expected to occur in the first half of 2028. The changes will appear in the Meta interface, including the Meta Business Suite and WhatsApp Manager. These updates will not affect existing partner integrations or advertising campaigns.
Conclusion
Meta continues to actively update the structure and functionality of WhatsApp Business. These new features will undoubtedly help businesses simplify and leverage new communication opportunities with clients and partners, as well as enhance the confidentiality of financial transactions between parties.
At GREEN-API, we monitor all WhatsApp updates to provide you with the latest news and solutions for automating your business processes. Stay tuned to stay updated with all the latest developments!