A business day in Austin
Marketing templates do not reach Austin's +1 numbers, so the conversations worth having start with the customer. A wa.me link in the right email, on the right parcel, is how an Indian business gets the first hello.
An Austin customer taps the link in last night's order email. It is 18:00 in India, and the chat lands in the shared inbox.
The evening shift in India answers in free form at 19:00 IST; the customer's message opened a 24-hour window.
The order system sends a dispatch update as a utility template at 22:30 IST.
A follow-up question arrives at 02:30 IST and waits for the morning shift, well inside the window.
For Indian D2C brands, software firms, education lenders and admissions teams with customers in Austin: why the first WhatsApp message has to come from the Austin side, how to build a click-to-chat link that starts it, what you can send once it arrives, and what each message costs in rupees.
See it work
Pick a sample: your business number and the first line you want the customer's message to carry. The builder turns it into a wa.me link for an email, a website or a QR code on a parcel bound for Austin.
The number in the link is yours, not the customer's: an Indian +91 number written any of the usual ways comes out as digits only, which is what wa.me needs. The pre-filled line is URL-encoded, so spaces and brackets survive the trip into an email or a QR code.
The reference tag at the end of each line, [ref:aus-email] or [ref:aus-campus], tells your team which link started the chat. Customers can edit the text before sending, so treat the tag as a hint, not as data. Put a different tag on each placement and the shared inbox will show you which ones Austin actually uses.
A wa.me link opens a WhatsApp chat with a number, optionally with a pre-filled message.
Format: number | message
Market brief
Meta, the university, the Embassy of India and the time-zone database.
Meta says WhatsApp does not currently deliver marketing template messages to users with US phone numbers, and that attempting to send one results in an error.[1]
Meta prices each message by the recipient's country calling code, so an Austin +1 number is billed at the North America rate wherever its owner is.[2]
The University of Texas at Austin, founded in 1883, reports 55,172 students enrolled in fall 2026 and US$1.37 billion of research expenditure in FY25.[3]
Since 15 July 2025, the Consulate General of India in Houston has covered Texas, with Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma.[4]
Austin keeps Central Time, UTC−6, with daylight saving from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November.[5]
Where the links go, and what the conversations they start are about.
Order and dispatch updates go as utility templates; questions about sizes, returns or reorders come in through links on the parcel and the email.
With 55,172 students on one campus, UT Austin is a large audience of applicants and borrowers who often keep an Indian family number too.[3]
Delivery teams in India keep Austin client contacts posted through the Central working day, which is the Indian evening and night.
Prices in ₹ and USD
Austin's +1 numbers, 512 and the rest, are billed on Meta's North America line: ₹0.2989 for each reply inside the window a link opens, ₹0.2989 for an order or dispatch update, ₹0.2989 for a passcode. Plans start at ₹999 a month.
Snapshot rates · as of 20 Oct 2026, 00:02 UTC
Lite
₹999 / month≈ $10.51 USD
₹833 / month, billed yearly≈ $8.76 USD
Growth
₹2,999 / month≈ $31.55 USD
₹2,499 / month, billed yearly≈ $26.29 USD
Enterprise
Custom volume pricing, custom SLA and dedicated infrastructure.
Per message to Austin · North America (regional rate)
| Category | ₹ INR | USD |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing | ₹2.1976 | $0.0231 |
| Utility | ₹0.2989 | $0.0031 |
| Authentication | ₹0.2989 | $0.0031 |
| Service | ₹0.2989 | $0.0031 |
| Market | Marketing | Utility | Authentication | Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | $0.0572₹5.4352 | $0.0241₹2.2874 | $0.0241₹2.2874 | $0.0241₹2.2874 |
| Bangladesh | $0.0678₹6.4397 | $0.0034₹0.3254 | $0.0034₹0.3254 | $0.0034₹0.3254 |
| Brazil | $0.0578₹5.4970 | $0.0063₹0.5981 | $0.0063₹0.5981 | $0.0063₹0.5981 |
| Chile | $0.0822₹7.8162 | $0.0185₹1.7585 | $0.0185₹1.7585 | $0.0185₹1.7585 |
| Colombia | $0.0116₹1.0993 | $0.0007₹0.0706 | $0.0007₹0.0706 | $0.0007₹0.0706 |
| Egypt | $0.0596₹5.6629 | $0.0033₹0.3167 | $0.0033₹0.3167 | $0.0033₹0.3167 |
| France | $0.0795₹7.5588 | $0.0278₹2.6393 | $0.0278₹2.6393 | $0.0278₹2.6393 |
| Germany | $0.126₹12.0088 | $0.0509₹4.8386 | $0.0509₹4.8386 | $0.0509₹4.8386 |
| Hong Kong | $0.0678₹6.4397 | $0.0241₹2.2867 | $0.0241₹2.2867 | $0.0241₹2.2867 |
| Hungary | $0.0795₹7.5596 | $0.0323₹3.0700 | $0.0323₹3.0700 | $0.0323₹3.0700 |
| India | $0.0099₹0.9435 | $0.0020₹0.1941 | $0.0015₹0.1402 | $0.0015₹0.1450 |
| Indonesia | $0.0380₹3.6133 | $0.0231₹2.1979 | $0.0231₹2.1979 | $0.0231₹2.1979 |
| Iraq | $0.0316₹2.9992 | $0.0073₹0.6943 | $0.0073₹0.6943 | $0.0073₹0.6943 |
| Israel | $0.0327₹3.1045 | $0.0049₹0.4662 | $0.0049₹0.4662 | $0.0049₹0.4662 |
| Italy | $0.0735₹6.9847 | $0.0277₹2.6369 | $0.0277₹2.6369 | $0.0277₹2.6369 |
| Kazakhstan | $0.0559₹5.3098 | $0.0166₹1.5824 | $0.0166₹1.5824 | $0.0166₹1.5824 |
| Kuwait | $0.0733₹6.9671 | $0.0407₹3.8671 | $0.0407₹3.8671 | $0.0407₹3.8671 |
| Malaysia | $0.0796₹7.5644 | $0.0130₹1.2314 | $0.0130₹1.2314 | $0.0130₹1.2314 |
| Mexico | $0.0367₹3.4877 | $0.0079₹0.7471 | $0.0079₹0.7471 | $0.0079₹0.7471 |
| Morocco | $0.0383₹3.6425 | $0.0213₹2.0218 | $0.0213₹2.0218 | $0.0213₹2.0218 |
| Netherlands | $0.148₹14.0494 | $0.0463₹4.3987 | $0.0463₹4.3987 | $0.0463₹4.3987 |
| Nepal | $0.0678₹6.4397 | $0.0031₹0.2990 | $0.0031₹0.2990 | $0.0031₹0.2990 |
| Nigeria | $0.0478₹4.5421 | $0.0062₹0.5898 | $0.0062₹0.5898 | $0.0062₹0.5898 |
| Oman | $0.0316₹2.9992 | $0.0228₹2.1709 | $0.0228₹2.1709 | $0.0228₹2.1709 |
| Pakistan | $0.0438₹4.1620 | $0.0139₹1.3200 | $0.0139₹1.3200 | $0.0139₹1.3200 |
| Peru | $0.0651₹6.1843 | $0.0278₹2.6392 | $0.0278₹2.6392 | $0.0278₹2.6392 |
| Poland | $0.0338₹3.2105 | $0.0113₹1.0702 | $0.0113₹1.0702 | $0.0113₹1.0702 |
| Qatar | $0.0316₹2.9992 | $0.0111₹1.0547 | $0.0111₹1.0547 | $0.0111₹1.0547 |
| Romania | $0.0795₹7.5596 | $0.0268₹2.5436 | $0.0268₹2.5436 | $0.0268₹2.5436 |
| Russia | $0.0742₹7.0520 | $0.0370₹3.5173 | $0.0370₹3.5173 | $0.0370₹3.5173 |
| Saudi Arabia | $0.0532₹5.0537 | $0.0099₹0.9401 | $0.0099₹0.9401 | $0.0099₹0.9401 |
| Singapore | $0.0678₹6.4397 | $0.0148₹1.4072 | $0.0148₹1.4072 | $0.0148₹1.4072 |
| South Africa | $0.0351₹3.3385 | $0.0088₹0.8369 | $0.0088₹0.8369 | $0.0088₹0.8369 |
| Spain | $0.0654₹6.2161 | $0.0185₹1.7578 | $0.0185₹1.7578 | $0.0185₹1.7578 |
| Sri Lanka | $0.0678₹6.4397 | $0.0019₹0.1759 | $0.0019₹0.1759 | $0.0019₹0.1759 |
| Turkey | $0.0101₹0.9587 | $0.0008₹0.0792 | $0.0008₹0.0792 | $0.0008₹0.0792 |
| Ukraine | $0.0795₹7.5596 | $0.0275₹2.6138 | $0.0275₹2.6138 | $0.0275₹2.6138 |
| United Arab Emirates | $0.0532₹5.0537 | $0.0145₹1.3811 | $0.0145₹1.3811 | $0.0145₹1.3811 |
| United Kingdom | $0.0587₹5.5795 | $0.0204₹1.9346 | $0.0204₹1.9346 | $0.0204₹1.9346 |
| North America | $0.0231₹2.1976 | $0.0031₹0.2989 | $0.0031₹0.2989 | $0.0031₹0.2989 |
| Rest of Africa | $0.0208₹1.9796 | $0.0037₹0.3516 | $0.0037₹0.3516 | $0.0037₹0.3516 |
| Rest of Asia Pacific | $0.0779₹7.4057 | $0.0105₹0.9938 | $0.0105₹0.9938 | $0.0105₹0.9938 |
| Rest of Central & Eastern Europe | $0.0795₹7.5596 | $0.0196₹1.8595 | $0.0196₹1.8595 | $0.0196₹1.8595 |
| Rest of Latin America | $0.0684₹6.5048 | $0.0105₹0.9934 | $0.0105₹0.9934 | $0.0105₹0.9934 |
| Rest of Middle East | $0.0363₹3.4490 | $0.0084₹0.7998 | $0.0084₹0.7998 | $0.0084₹0.7998 |
| Rest of Western Europe | $0.0548₹5.2054 | $0.0158₹1.5019 | $0.0158₹1.5019 | $0.0158₹1.5019 |
| Other | $0.0559₹5.3098 | $0.0071₹0.6769 | $0.0071₹0.6769 | $0.0071₹0.6769 |
Plan prices are monthly, in rupees, excluding GST; yearly billing is two months free. Messages are charged per delivered message on top of the plan, at the rate for the recipient’s country. Full details: InfiQ pricing. A student or family member who opted in on an Indian +91 number is billed at the India rate, ₹0.19 for an update. The North America marketing rate never applies to an Austin number, because Meta does not deliver marketing templates to US numbers. Dollar figures are indicative; InfiQ invoices in rupees.
Work out your own monthly cost by message type.
Calculate your exact costOn InfiQ
The link starts the chat; these keep it going from India.
One WhatsApp number answered by a team: 10 users on Lite and 25 on Growth, agent and manager roles, transfers, private notes, labels and canned replies.
Chats started by Austin links land in one shared inbox, with the pre-filled reference visible, for whichever agent is on shift in India.
Learn moreDeveloper API and webhooks
After the first conversation, your order or loan system sends utility updates on its own, and signed webhooks confirm delivery to Austin.
InfiQ Flows chatbot builder
A no-code flow can answer the common first lines an Austin link carries, such as an order-status question, at any hour of the Austin day.
Template manager and library
Build the utility templates that follow a conversation, in English (US), and track each through Meta's approval.
Nearby
Other city guides on this site, nearest first, in the US and Mexico.
The marketing rule, the TCPA question and the North America rate apply nationwide; the United States guide covers them in full.
Question: Our sale templates can't reach customers in Austin. Where should our click-to-chat links go instead?
Answer: Wherever Austin customers already meet you: the order-confirmation email, the checkout page, the invoice, a QR code on the parcel, a student portal. Give each placement its own link and reference tag. When a customer taps one and sends the line, you can reply freely for 24 hours at ₹0.2989 a message.
Question: A UT Austin student taps our link at 11 p.m. Central. Is our reply from Pune the next morning still inside the window?
Answer: Comfortably. 23:00 Central is 09:30 IST the next day during daylight saving, so your desk can answer as it opens, and the window runs until 23:00 the following night in Austin. In winter, 23:00 Central is 10:30 IST, and the window is just as long.
Question: Can the pre-filled text in our Austin link carry a campaign reference like [ref:aus-email]?
Answer: Yes. The builder URL-encodes the whole line, brackets included, and the tag arrives in the first message. The customer can edit or delete it before sending, so use it to route and count chats, not as proof of where a customer came from.
Question: Once a customer in Round Rock has written to us, can we tell them about our Diwali sale?
Answer: Meta's US restriction names marketing templates, and a sale announcement sent as a template still will not be delivered to a US number. Inside the window, answer what the customer asked; turning a service chat into a sales pitch they did not ask for invites blocks and complaints. Put the sale in your email.
Question: Our D2C brand ships from Jaipur to East Austin. Which WhatsApp updates can follow the parcel?
Answer: Every status the customer is waiting for, as utility templates at ₹0.2989 each: order confirmed, dispatched, held at customs, out for delivery, delivered. Put a click-to-chat link in the dispatch email too, so questions about the parcel come to WhatsApp rather than to a ticket queue.
Question: We are an Austin start-up with developers in Kochi. Can our Texas company use InfiQ?
Answer: InfiQ serves India-based businesses: it bills in rupees with GST, keeps customer data in India and supports customers in English and Hindi on India time. Your Indian entity could hold an account. If your business is based in Austin, talk to sales about whether InfiQ fits.
Facts on this page were checked against these sources on the dates shown. Page updated 2026-10-20.
Start a 7-day Lite trial, no card needed, build your first click-to-chat links and answer Austin from the shared inbox. If your business is based in Austin, talk to sales about whether InfiQ fits.
