WhatsApp Business API in Kolkata

Confirm the COD order before it travels

Cash on delivery is the habit across eastern India, and returned parcels are the cost of that habit.

One message after checkout changes the maths: product, amount, address, and two buttons — confirm or cancel. Wrong addresses get fixed, unserious orders drop out, and only the real ones go to the courier.

Add a line offering free shipping on prepaid, and a part of your COD volume moves to online payment, where returns are far lower.

Who uses it across the city

• Burrabazar and Canning Street wholesalers — rate and stock messages to retailers across Bengal, Bihar, Odisha and the North East.
• Gariahat and New Market shops — new arrivals to customers who bought before, especially before the pujas.
• Saree and handloom sellers — design photos and videos sent from one number by the whole team.
• Salt Lake Sector V companies — OTPs and order updates from their own software.
• Coaching centres and schools — fee and notice messages to parents.
• Clinics in Behala, Dum Dum and Howrah — appointment and report-ready messages.

Bengali first, when that is what the customer reads

Meta lets you keep the same template in more than one language. Write your order confirmation, your rate list and your festival offer in Bengali and English, and tag each contact with the language they prefer.

Keep the Bengali natural, the way your shop talks, not a formal translation. A message that sounds like your counter gets a reply; one that sounds like a notice does not.

Durga Puja is the year, and it needs planning

A large share of Kolkata retail happens in a few weeks. Everything either holds in those weeks or it does not.

Get your festive templates approved in early September, not on Mahalaya. Build lists before the season: last year's puja buyers, wholesale customers, walk-ins who opted in.

During the rush, the Growth plan's bot answers timings, address and "is it available" while your staff handle the buying customers in front of them.

One number for a business where everyone answers

In most Kolkata shops the WhatsApp number belongs to the owner, the son, or the senior salesman. Customers message whoever gave them a card, and nobody else can see that chat.

On the API the number belongs to the business. Staff log into a browser inbox, chats can be assigned, and an unanswered message stays visible until someone closes it. When a salesman leaves, the customers stay.

For wholesalers this matters most during the season. Three people can answer two hundred retailers from the same number on a Monday morning, and every rate quoted is in one place if a dispute comes up later.

Click-to-call sits in the chat header, because in Burrabazar the final rate is still agreed on a call.

What the platform does not do

It does not translate your messages; each language version is written and approved separately. It does not decide which COD orders are risky — it gives you the confirmation, the policy is yours. There is no catalogue or payment inside WhatsApp, no SMS, and no CRM beyond contact lists.

The verified badge is Meta's decision, and Meta's messaging tiers apply to every business in Kolkata.

Plans, and setup from Indore

₹790 Starter, ₹990 Growth, ₹1,290 Pro — monthly, no setup fee, no contract. Most sellers start on Growth for lists and the bot, and move to Pro when the store should send confirmations by itself. See the plans page.

We are based in Indore and set up Kolkata accounts over a call. Share a number not on the WhatsApp app, Business Manager access, and your order confirmation wording in Bengali and English. For automatic sending, read API integration; for stopping returns, see ecommerce and D2C brands.