Mumbai, Sep 12 (IANS): Meta on Thursday announced several features and updates on WhatsApp for millions of small businesses across the country that will help them grow ahead of the upcoming festive season.

At its first ‘WhatsApp Business Summit’ in the country, the company said that ‘Meta Verified’ feature is now available to all eligible small businesses in India using the WhatsApp Business app.

With this feature, businesses that choose to subscribe and demonstrate their authenticity will receive a verified badge, impersonation protection, account support, and premium features that help amplify their brand online and make it more efficient to chat with customers.

The same badge will appear on their WhatsApp Channels and Business pages, making it easy to share on social media and websites.

“The ubiquity and ease of WhatsApp places it at the centre of India's transformation, helping businesses fuel compelling ideas and new models of growth,” said Sandhya Devanathan, VP, Meta in India.

The company is rolling out the ability for small businesses using the WhatsApp Business app to send customised messages to their customers – like appointment reminders, birthday greetings or even updates on a holiday sale all in a faster and more efficient way.

“This new feature, available for a fee, gives businesses the ability to send personal messages with a customer’s name and customisable call-to-action buttons and will also enable them to schedule the day and time the messages are sent,” the company informed.

In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the social media company will soon launch ‘WhatsApp Business Yatra’ in India, where it will go to tier 2 and 3 cities to provide on-ground, in-person training to small businesses.

About 60 per cent of WhatsApp users are interacting with businesses every week. Overall, around 92 per cent of users are using messaging apps to interact with the businesses.