Add a payment method to your WhatsApp account

🎯 Goal

Get templates, campaigns and auto reminders sending again by giving Meta a working payment method.

🧰 What you need

• Admin access to your Meta business portfolio (business.facebook.com)
• A debit / credit card

What you see

On Home and on the Connection page, a red card says No working payment method on your WhatsApp account (Meta error 141006 — payment method error). The number switcher at the top shows a red mark and needs action next to the number. You also get one email, and a reminder after 3 days if it is still not fixed.

What it blocks

Meta charges for template messages (marketing, utility, authentication) on your WhatsApp Business account. Without a working payment method, Meta blocks every conversation you start:

• templates sent from the inbox,
• campaigns,
• auto reminders and chatbot steps that send a template.

Replies still work: when a customer writes to you, you can answer for free inside their 24-hour window. A campaign or reminder that fails for this reason shows Meta error 131042 (Business eligibility payment issue).

Fix it in WhatsApp Manager

1. Open WhatsApp Manager: business.facebook.com/wa/manage and choose the business portfolio and the WhatsApp account of this number.
2. Open Payment settings — in the left menu under Account tools → Payment methods (or from the warning on Overview).
3. Click Add payment method, enter the card and save. If a card is already there but failed, update it or add another and make it the default.
4. Indian businesses: set up INR billing for the WhatsApp account by 31 December 2026.
5. Back in the panel, press Recheck now on the card. Meta can take a few minutes to clear the block; the card disappears by itself once Meta reports it fixed.

Tip

Only people with Full control of the business portfolio can add a payment method. If you can’t see Payment settings, ask the portfolio’s admin to do it or to give you full control.

Common mistakes

• Adding the card to the wrong account. A business portfolio can have several WhatsApp accounts — pick the one that owns this number (the card in the panel shows the number).
• A card that blocks international or recurring charges. Ask your bank to allow online / recurring payments to Meta.
• Waiting for the card to disappear right away. Press Recheck now after a few minutes; we also check again every hour.

What’s next

Messaging limits →How many people you can start conversations with.Account blocked or restricted →Other reasons Meta stops sending.Meta error codes →What each failed-message code means.