What is WhatsApp OTP?
A WhatsApp OTP is a one-time password delivered to the customer's WhatsApp instead of by SMS, used to verify logins, sign-ups or transactions. Technically it is sent as an authentication template on the Business API, often with a copy-code button so the user does not have to type the digits. Delivery is near-instant and read rates are higher than SMS because people keep WhatsApp open.
Indian businesses adopt WhatsApp OTPs mainly for cost and reliability: an authentication conversation costs around ₹0.12, competitive with commercial SMS rates, and avoids DND filtering that silently drops promotional-route SMS. E-commerce sites, loan apps and society-management portals commonly offer WhatsApp as the primary OTP channel with SMS fallback, since roughly 500 million Indians already use WhatsApp daily on the same phone number.