Facebook may allow businesses to contact users through WhatsApp, the first hint of how the social network might make money from the messaging service it bought last year.
WhatsApp may use some functions that are being tested with Facebook Messenger, for example, business-to-consumer interaction that marketers could pay for.
The online mobile messaging service, Whatsapp, reportedly would use some features being examined on Facebook Messenger like some business-to-user communication that would be charged. The users would get to choose their preferable business for interaction, reports Bloomberg.
David Wehner, chief financial officer at Facebook talked about the company’s plan of considering business to user chat at a JPMorgan technology conference held in Boston. “We think that enabling B2C messaging has good business potential for us,” said Wehner.
“As we learn those things, I think there’s going to be opportunities to bring some of those things to WhatsApp, but that’s more long-term than the near-term,” he added.
Facebook purchased WhatsApp for $21.8 billion last year. With 800 million users now, WhatsApp has grown rapidly since 2009, particularly in Europe and parts of Asia.
But profit remains elusive for WhatsApp. In October, Facebook disclosed that WhatsApp made nearly $16 million in revenues during the first half of 2014 but lost $232 million during the same period, mostly from stock-related expenses.
WhatsApp, presently, is the most popular messaging app with 800 million subscribers though Mark Zuckerberg, CEO, Facebook is of the view that Whatsapp should touch the 1 billion mark to turn into a big industry.