WhatsApp Business for Trinidad shops
Set up WhatsApp Business for a Trinidad shop: profile, catalog, cart, quick replies and payment links through Wam or WiPay, with the fees on a TT$200 sale.
For many shops in Trinidad and Tobago, WhatsApp is where customers ask, haggle and order. The free WhatsApp Business app can turn that chat into something closer to a proper store, with a product list, saved answers and a payment link.
Most sellers only use a fraction of it. This guide walks through the parts that save the most time, then compares the two local payment links most shops here can use, Wam and WiPay.
Business app or the paid platform?
Meta offers two products, and they are easy to confuse.
| WhatsApp Business app | WhatsApp Business Platform | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free to download and use | Charged per message through a provider |
| Who it suits | Shops answering chats on one or a few phones | Larger businesses with chatbots or many staff |
| Setup | Install from the app store | Needs a provider or developer |
This guide is about the free app. If you are thinking about the paid platform, read our post on selling on WhatsApp in the Caribbean first. Meta started charging for more types of replies on the platform from October 2026.
Set up your profile
Fill in every field: business name, category, description, address, hours, email and website. WhatsApp uses those details to create ready-made quick replies for your hours and address, so a complete profile saves typing later.
Use a number that belongs to the business, not the owner's personal phone. That makes it easier to hand the phone to staff, and the customer list stays with the shop.
Build a catalog
The catalog is a product list inside WhatsApp. Customers can browse it without asking "what you have?" and waiting for photos.
WhatsApp's catalog guide lets you add up to 10 images per item, plus a name, price, description, link and product code. You must also choose a country of origin for each item. WhatsApp reviews every item before customers can see it, and rejected items show a red mark you can appeal.
Some practical tips:
- Group items into collections, such as "school uniforms" or "Divali specials."
- Put the price in TT dollars and keep it current. A wrong price in the catalog causes more arguments than no price.
- Hide items that are out of stock instead of deleting them.
With the cart feature, customers can pick several items and send them to you as one order message. That cuts out a lot of back and forth.
Save time with quick replies and labels
Quick replies are saved messages you send by typing "/". The app allows up to 50, and on a phone they can include photos.
Start with the questions you answer most:
- Prices and sizes.
- Delivery areas, days and cost.
- How to pay.
- Returns and exchanges.
- Opening hours and location.
Set a greeting message for first-time customers and an away message for after hours. Use labels to mark chats as "new order," "paid" or "delivered," so nothing slips through when it gets busy.
Take payment with a link
WhatsApp's own in-chat payments have launched only in a few countries, such as India and Brazil (Sinch), so shops here send a payment link instead. The customer taps it, pays by card on a secure page and you get confirmation.
Two Trinidad companies registered with the Central Bank offer links you can paste into a chat. WamNow Technologies, which runs Wam, is a registered e-money issuer. WiPay Payment Solutions is a registered payment service provider (Central Bank list).
| Wam | WiPay | |
|---|---|---|
| Card fee | 3.0% + TT$1.50 | 3.5% + US$0.25 on the free plan; 3.0% + US$0.25 on paid plans |
| Monthly fee | None listed | Free plan, or US$19.99 (TT$136) for Business Plus |
| Who pays the fee | Not stated; ask Wam | Your choice: customer, business or split |
| Other costs to check | Withdrawal to your bank | TT$5 per withdrawal to a TT$ bank account, US$0.75 per refund |
| Source | Wam | WiPay pricing, fee docs |
On a TT$200 sale, Wam's fee works out to TT$7.50. WiPay's comes to about TT$8.70 on the free plan and TT$7.70 on a paid plan, using WiPay's own rate of roughly TT$6.80 to the US dollar. The gap is small, so pick on what matters more to you: no monthly fee, or the option to pass the fee to the customer.
Our Wam post goes deeper into Wam's checkout and the questions to ask before signing up.
Confirm before you ship
Bank transfer screenshots are easy to fake. Fraud involving digital payments is rising across the region, as our payment fraud post explains.
With a payment link, only ship when the payment provider confirms the money, in your dashboard or by email. Give every order a number and put it in the payment note, so you can match the payment to the chat.
What to do next
Spend one evening this week on the profile, five quick replies and your ten best-selling products in the catalog. Then send your next order a payment link instead of bank details and see how the customer responds.
Watch for Meta to bring more AI features and paid broadcast messages to the free app. Business broadcasts are already charged per delivered message in the countries where they have launched, so check the price before you message your whole customer list.