WhatsApp - OBO to Shared (to Shared-with-Solution) Migration

Objective

This article details the migration process of moving Vonage's customers' WhatsApp Business Accounts (WABAs) from OBO (on-behalf-of) to Shared to Shared-with-Solution attached. 

Applies To

• Messages API
• WhatsApp

Background (OBO WABAs)

Till recently, for all legacy WhatsApp number onboardings, Vonage used to create WhatsApp Business Accounts (WABAs) via Meta's Business Manager (BM) UI. These WABAs were owned by Vonage, but marked-for-use to a particular end-business. These are called On-Behalf-Of (OBO) WABAs. Partners working with end-businesses access these WABAs via their access to the Vonage’s BM.

(More details about OBO and Shared WABAs can be seen here and here)

OBO WABA - Owned by Vonage, appears like this in Vonage's Meta BM (see the difference in Owned by:)

Shared WABA - Owned by end-business, appears like this in Vonage's Meta BM

Migration to "Shared" WABAs

Under the scope of migration of all such OBO WABAs to “Shared” WABAs, the ownership of all OBO WABAs (current WABA owner is Vonage) will shift to the end-business being the new owner, while it remains “Shared” with Vonage.

For Direct Customers of Vonage - Migration to "Shared" WABAs has already been carried out once in 2024 for all known direct customers. As we carry out Step-1 detailed below, if there are any pending OBO WABAs, the ownership will shift to the Direct customer (as they are the 'end-business'), while it remains “Shared” with Vonage.

For Partners / Tech Providers of Vonage, which are working with the end-business(es) - Migration to "Shared" WABAs will need 2 Steps here. As we carry out Step-1 detailed below, the ownership of WABAs will shift to the 'end-business', while remaining as “Shared” with Vonage's business portfolio. However, "sharing" the WABA with Partner's business portfolio will need a Step-2 of attaching a Tech Provider Solution-ID as detailed below. 

The Migration Process: Two Steps

The overall OBO-to-Shared migration (to Shared-with-Solution migration) of WhatsApp Business Accounts (WABAs) has to be done in 2 steps as shown below:

Step 1: OBO to Shared migration

This step migrates ownership of WABA from Vonage to end-business

• Vonage will trigger this in the first week of August 2025
• End-businesses need to go into their Meta BM’s Requests section and approve all such requests from Vonage. Step-by-step guide here
  • If not accepted, this request will be auto-accepted in 30 days
• End-businesses as WABA-owners need to ensure to NOT REMOVE access for any Vonage user (and/or users from their Partner's side) from any Shared WABA, as this will restrict messaging API access, support, and troubleshooting capabilities, and may cause billing issues as well. 
• End-businesses need to provide full access to their Meta business portfolio to their Partner’s admin to enable them to access their WhatsApp assets. Step-by-step guide here

You will be first receiving further communication about Step-1 via email and via your Vonage POC. Step-2 is expected to follow a month after that if the criteria mentioned below are met.

NOTE: Access of Partners to Shared WABAs

For Vonage’s partners/tech providers, the Shared WABAs will not be automatically shared with their business portfolios just yet. As mentioned, "sharing" the WABA with Partner's business portfolio will need a Step-2 of attaching a Tech Provider Solution-ID (which needs multiple criteria to be met).

Hence, in the mean time, Partner’s admin needs to get full control of the end-business’s Meta BM to continue accessing or managing the latter’s WhatsApp assets via Embedded Signup flow. 

Step-by-step instructions on how the end-businesses can add a Partner-admin to their Meta BM are shown here. 

This access is needed because:

• Partners need this access to see the end-client's Meta business portfolio when starting the Embedded signup flow in Customer Dashboard
• Current access of Partners/Tech Providers/end-businesses (or any non-Vonage user) to Vonage’s BM will be removed in coming quarters

Note: This access (full control of the end-business’s Meta BM) needed by Partner's admin is an interim requirement, only until Step 2 is completed.

Step 2: Shared to Shared-with-Solution migration

(applicable only for Partners/Tech Providers)

This step shares ownership of WABA with Vonage’s Partner by attaching a Solution-ID with the Shared WABAs 

• Vonage will trigger this in the first week of September 2025
• End-businesses need to go into their Meta BM’s Requests section and approve all such requests from Vonage.
  • If not accepted, this request will be auto-accepted in 90 days
• Partners need to complete Tech Provider enrolment fully before this can be undertaken. Process doc here.
  • A screenshot needs to be shared with Vonage POC confirming the enrolment-completion.
• Partners / Tech Providers need to ensure that their Meta App which is linked with the Solution ID is Active, is in "Live" mode (as shown here), and is not modified in any way afterwards.
• Partners / Tech Providers need to ensure by consulting their Vonage POC that they have an active Solution ID registered with Vonage, and that it's not modified in any way afterwards.

You will be getting more communication with respect to Step 2 in due time. Vonage will reach out via your POC with further steps.