Send a WhatsApp Template (MTM)

In this code snippet you will see how to send a WhatsApp Template using the Messages API.

IMPORTANT: If a customer messages you, you have 24 hours to respond to the customer with a free form message. After this period you must use a template message (MTM). If a customer has not messaged you first, then the first time you send a message to a user, WhatsApp requires that the message contains a template. This is explained in more detail in the Understanding WhatsApp topic.

Example

Ensure the following variables are set to your required values using any convenient method:

Key Description
NEXMO_APPLICATION_ID The ID of the application that you created.
WHATSAPP_NUMBER The WhatsApp number that has been allocated to you by Nexmo.
TO_NUMBER The phone number you are sending the message to.

NOTE: Don't use a leading + or 00 when entering a phone number, start with the country code, for example, 447700900000.

  • cURL

    • Prerequisites

    Create an application
    If you do not have an application you can create one. Make sure you also configure your webhooks.

    Write the code

    Add the following to send-mtm.sh:

    Copy to Clipboard 
    curl -X POST \
  https://api.nexmo.com/beta/messages \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer' $JWT \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
   "from":{
      "type":"whatsapp",
      "number":"'$WHATSAPP_NUMBER'"
   },
   "to":{
      "type":"whatsapp",
      "number":"'$TO_NUMBER'"
   },
   "message":{
      "content":{
         "type":"template",
         "template":{
            "name":"whatsapp:hsm:technology:nexmo:verify",
            "parameters":[
               {
                  "default":"Nexmo Verification"
               },
               {
                  "default":"64873"
               },
               {
                  "default":"10"
               }
            ]
         }
      },
      "whatsapp": {
        "policy": "deterministic",
        "locale": "en-GB"
      }
   }
}'

    View full source

    Run your code

    Save this file to your machine and run it: 

    bash send-mtm.sh

    Try it out

    When you run the code a WhatsApp template (MTM) is sent to the destination number.