WhatsApp Business banned with no reason? What SA businesses can do

South African businesses say Meta has been banning their WhatsApp Business accounts or rejecting their verification without giving a clear reason, and that they can't reach a human to fix it, MyBroadband reported on 3 November. Meta told the publication it is contacting affected companies and investigating the cause.

Who is affected?

Registered businesses that use WhatsApp to talk to customers. WhatsApp has an estimated 29 million users in South Africa, and WhatsApp Business was the 10th most-downloaded free Android app in the country in October, ahead of Facebook and several banking apps, according to Similarweb figures cited by MyBroadband.

What happened to the businesses that spoke out?

Wireless internet provider Jenny Internet said Meta disabled its WhatsApp Business accounts on 19 October for a "breach of the WhatsApp Business Terms of Service". CEO Rolf Stucky said on LinkedIn the company knew of no violation. The automated review promised an answer in 48 hours, but more than a week later it was still offline. Its accounts were restored only after contacts put it in touch with people at Meta (MyBroadband).

A small Gauteng business, Resident H, said its Meta business verification was rejected at least three times in a month over "a problem with the ID you submitted", even after it sent the director's passport, green ID book and driver's licence, and its CIPC details matched. Each of its three support cases was answered by an AI agent and closed (MyBroadband).

What can you do if your account is banned?

• Use the review request inside the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app, and check WhatsApp's Help Centre for the official steps.
• Make sure your business name, address, CIPC number and the director's ID details match exactly across Meta Business Manager and your documents, since mismatched ID was the reason Resident H was given.
• Keep a record of case numbers and dates, and keep a second way for customers to reach you (phone, email or SMS) while you wait.

There is no guaranteed timeline. Businesses quoted by MyBroadband said the automated reviews did not resolve their cases, and Meta has not said when its investigation will finish.