Cloud communications company, Infobip, has launched “WhatsApp Business Calling”, a fresh feature that enables businesses to make and receive voice calls via their WhatsApp business numbers. This addition enhances Infobip’s omnichannel platform by delivering richer, real-time conversations within the messaging app used by millions worldwide.
This means businesses will now receive and initiate voice calls globally, using WhatsApp’s native interface so customers never leave the app. Calls can be started directly from WhatsApp chats, interactive messages, or deep links embedded in websites and apps, providing multiple convenient entry points thanks to the integration of WhatsApp with Infobip Conversations, which is the firm’s cloud contact center solution – that enables customer support agents to switch seamlessly from chat to voice while maintaining unified conversation history and context.
“Our customers consistently emphasize that voice is essential for providing outstanding service, particularly when it comes to complex matters that demand real-time interaction,” said George Muhia, Head of Enterprise Business, East Africa at Infobip.
“By introducing WhatsApp Business Calling, we’re bringing together the convenience of chat and the immediacy of voice – within a trusted, secure, and branded environment that customers know and value.”
Available across global markets, WhatsApp Business Calling supports industries such as retail, banking, airlines, and e-commerce by enabling faster issue resolution.
By embedding app-based voice within WhatsApp, it reduces friction and ensures seamless customer interactions. Integrated reporting and billing with the WhatsApp Business Platform simplifies operations and provides valuable insights.
A key advantage of WhatsApp Business Calling is branded calling: verified business profiles display the company name, logo, and checkmark during calls, reinforcing brand authenticity, combating fraud, and boosting customer trust and answer rates.
WhatsApp is a free messaging service that supports voice calls. In 2014, the messenger was acquired by Facebook for $19 billion. However, Meta launched WhatsApp Business in January 2018 to provide businesses with a dedicated and more convenient platform for interacting with customers.
The creation of a business version of WhatsApp for years later was inspired by the fact that the usual WhatsApp app was more of a personal communication platform and to accommodate users in professional spaces, it was important to come up with a business version of the platform – there were fears that the normal WhatsApp platform would disrupt communication in various ways, specifically in professional settings because of its informal nature, blurred boundaries between work and personal life, potential for misinterpretation, and lack of professional features and dedicated customer support
The Meta’s messaging app currently has over 3 billion monthly active users globally as of May 2025, making it one of the most widely used messaging platforms, according to Statista. In February 2020, the number of WhatsApp users all over the world reached two billion. The messaging platform has grown so much that as at the New Year’s Eve of 2020, it recorded more than 1.4 billion voice and video calls globally, the most ever calls in a single day on WhatsApp.
As WhatsApp exploits the enormous potential that lies in real-time voice calls, it remains to be seen whether the move will enable faster and trusted customer support for its users, particularly in the long run.
