Requirements to connect a phone number to WhatsApp Business Platform (WABA / Cloud API) via 360dialog

Key terms (avoid confusion)

1) WABA (WhatsApp Business Account)

A WABA is the account structure that manages one or more phone numbers used with the WhatsApp Business Platform.

2) “WhatsApp account name” in Meta Business Suite (WABA asset label)

In Meta Business Suite → WhatsApp accounts, the name you see is an internal label for the WABA asset (mainly for organizing assets). This name is not the same as the phone number Display Name that goes through compliance review.

3) WhatsApp Display Name (what gets reviewed/rejected)

The Display Name is assigned at the phone number level and is reviewed by Meta/WhatsApp. If it’s rejected, messaging can be blocked/limited until you submit a compliant name.

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Requirements to connect a phone number (360dialog + Embedded Signup)

A) The phone number must be able to receive an OTP

During Embedded Signup / onboarding flows, the customer must verify ownership of the phone number using a one-time password (OTP).

B) Disable IVR / auto-attendant (critical if OTP is delivered by phone call)

If your verification is by voice call, IVR must be disabled during signup, otherwise the OTP call may not reach a human. 360dialog explicitly lists “Disabled IVR system during signup” as a requirement.

C) “Number not connected to another WhatsApp account” (traditional requirement)

Some onboarding flows require the phone number not to be connected to another WhatsApp account at the moment of signup. 360dialog lists this as a requirement.

D) Coexistence update (why this “not connected” rule may no longer apply)

Meta/WhatsApp introduced coexistence options that allow (eligible) numbers already in use on the WhatsApp Business App to be onboarded to the platform. 360dialog notes this capability since February 2025.
Practical takeaway: If you are using a coexistence-capable flow, the old “must not be connected to the app” requirement can be relaxed—but only for that eligibility/flow.

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Display Name compliance (what 360dialog/Meta actually reject)

If 360dialog says “the name is not compliant,” they are almost always referring to the phone number Display Name, not the WABA asset label.

1) Must match external branding exactly

Display names must match how your brand appears on your website, including capitalization, spacing, and letter casing.

2) Must accurately represent the business

A display name should represent a business / product / service / department (or a clearly linked test/demo account). It should not be:

• an individual’s full name

• a generic term (e.g., “Support”, “Fashion”)

• a generic geographic location (e.g., “New York”)

• a slogan or long description

3) Clear relationship to the business (provable online)

If the relationship isn’t obvious from public sources, indicate it using “by [company name]”.

4) Formatting rules + website requirement

• Minimum 3 characters

• Grammatically correct capitalization

• Don’t add extra punctuation, emojis, or symbols

• A display name cannot be approved without a working website; after registration, display name change requests are limited (e.g., 30-day wait).

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Best practice: avoid “numbers in names” issues

For the WABA account name (Meta Business Suite label)

While it’s primarily an internal label, you should still keep it clean to avoid mistakes (people often copy/paste it into the Display Name).

Recommended convention

• Brand – Country/Property – Prod/Sandbox

• Example: Chic & Basic Hotels – Spain – Prod

Avoid

• Putting the full phone number in the WABA account name (not “forbidden,” but a frequent source of Display Name rejections due to copy/paste).

For the Display Name (reviewed by Meta)

Use only the public brand name as it appears on the website:

• Chic & Basic Hotels
  If needed:

• ProductName by Chic & Basic Hotels