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WhatsApp Business API for Austria, checked against § 174 TKG

Austria's telecom law asks for consent before direct-marketing messages, with one narrow exception for existing customers. Work through the checklist, then write to Austrian customers in Austrian German.

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Market file · AT
Marketing rule
§ 174 TKG 2021, in force since 1 Nov 2021[1]
Data regulator
Datenschutzbehörde (DSB)[2]
Economy, 2025
Real GDP +0.7%; €518.2 bn nominal[4]
International HQs
412, 45% of them in Vienna[5]
Time zone
CET, UTC+1; CEST, UTC+2 in summer[6]
Meta market
Rest of Western Europe (regional rate)

For Indian businesses with customers in Austria, and Austrian firms evaluating InfiQ: a working checklist for consent under § 174 TKG 2021, what the existing-customer exception and the ECG list mean for WhatsApp, Austrian German templates, and what each message to an Austrian number costs.

Back to growth, with Vienna at the centre

Statistik Austria's 2025 accounts, the Austrian Business Agency's figures and a youth survey, in seven lines.

Real GDP grew 0.7% in 2025 after two years of decline; nominal GDP rose 3.6% to €518.2 billion, or €56,298 per inhabitant (Statistik Austria, 30 September 2026).[4]

Services drove the recovery (+1.6% real) and manufacturing grew 1.6% after two negative years, while construction shrank 1.7%.[4]

Growth continued into 2026: 1.3% year on year in the first quarter and 0.6% in the second, on revised preliminary data.[4]

412 international companies run headquarters in Austria, many of them steering Central and Eastern European business from there; 45% of those headquarters are in Vienna (figures undated).[5]

Among Austrians aged 11 to 17, 82% use WhatsApp, more than any other platform, though 5 points fewer than a year earlier (Saferinternet.at Jugend-Internet-Monitor 2026). The survey covers young people only.[7]

German is the state language under Article 8 of the Federal Constitutional Law, which also commits the state to protect the languages of Austria's autochthonous ethnic groups.[8]

Payment Services Austria, owned by Austrian banks, runs the Bankomat card system and lists eps online bank transfers and the ZOIN app; it cites 11 million Bankomat cards (undated).[9]

Before you send

Before you send to Austria: the § 174 checklist

Five checks drawn from § 174 TKG 2021, the Datenschutzbehörde and WhatsApp's own policy. The provision speaks of electronic mail including SMS; reading it onto WhatsApp is an interpretation, and the cautious one.

§ 174(3) TKG 2021 makes direct-marketing electronic mail, including SMS, unlawful without the recipient's prior consent. The wording was read on JUSLINE, a mirror of the official RIS text, which was unavailable during research.[1]

Regulator: Österreichische Datenschutzbehörde (DSB), for data protection

Your sending checklist

5/5

ticked

Required
5 / 5

Ready to send

Every item ticked.

Tick each item as your process covers it. This is a practical checklist, not legal advice.

Ready to send. 5 of 5 ticked.

Sources for each point: Prior consent for every marketing message[1]; Existing customers: all four conditions, or none[1]; Check the ECG list before using the exception[1]; Honour objections without conditions[3]; Meet WhatsApp's opt-in rule too[13]

This section summarises public guidance from the sources cited. It is not legal advice; check with your counsel before you send.

Austrian German, and the languages next door

Meta lists German (Austria) as a template language of its own. For a Vienna team that also serves neighbouring markets, their languages are on the list too.

Each language version of a template is approved separately, so a group that messages Austria and three neighbours from Vienna maintains four sets. Replies inside the 24-hour window can be in any language your agents write.

InfiQ's own support works in English and Hindi.

Meta template languages relevant to Austria
LanguageMeta codeUse it for
German (Austria)de_ATAustrian usage for customers in Austria
GermandeOne German version shared with customers in Germany
EnglishenGuests, international customers and group functions
CzechcsNeighbouring market served from Vienna
SlovakskNeighbouring market served from Vienna
HungarianhuNeighbouring market served from Vienna
SlovenianslNeighbouring market served from Vienna

Who messages what

Austrian sectors and their WhatsApp work

Six parts of the Austrian economy, from record tourism to regional headquarters, and the messages each one sends.

SectorWhat it sends on WhatsApp
TourismA record 157.29 million overnight stays in 2025, up from 154 million in 2024.[10]
  • Booking confirmations
  • Arrival information
  • Guest chat in German and English
Life sciences1,174 companies, 73,437 employees and €40.0 billion in revenue, 8.3% of GDP by the ABA's count (undated); every second biotech company is active in Vienna.[11]
  • Order and delivery updates to hospitals and distributors
  • Service visits
  • No patient data in messages
Automotive and mobilityAbout 36,000 people work in automotive, with vehicle-industry production worth €17.5 billion (undated); aviation has a 90% export ratio.[12]
  • Logistics notices to OEM plants
  • Spare-parts updates for workshops
  • Delivery slots
ManufacturingManufacturing value added grew 1.6% in 2025 after two years of contraction, and investment in machinery rose 9.6%.[4]
  • Service-ticket intake
  • Technician scheduling
  • Updates for customers abroad
Information and communicationValue added grew 2.3% in 2025, among the fastest-growing service branches.[4]
  • Account and onboarding alerts
  • Support desks
  • Authentication codes
Regional headquartersMany of Austria's 412 international headquarters steer business in Central and Eastern Europe from there.[5]
  • One shared inbox across markets
  • Templates per language
  • Escalation to market teams

Vienna's clock against India's

Austria keeps Central European Time: three and a half hours behind India in summer, four and a half after the clocks go back on 25 October 2026.

For an Indian team the overlap is easy. A template sent at 09:00 in Vienna leaves at 12:30 IST in summer or 13:30 in winter, and Austrian replies arrive through the Indian afternoon.

Vienna holds 45% of Austria's international headquarters, many of them run for Central and Eastern Europe. Turn the globe to see how close those markets sit.

Drag or swipe to rotate. Use the arrow keys to rotate, plus and minus to zoom, and 0 to reset.

Prices in ₹ and EUR

What a message to Austria costs

Austria has no line of its own on Meta's rate card; Austrian numbers are charged at the Rest of Western Europe rate. Plans start at ₹999 a month.

Snapshot rates · as of 20 Oct 2026, 00:02 UTC

Lite

₹999 / month≈ €9.38 EUR

₹833 / month, billed yearly≈ €7.83 EUR

Growth

₹2,999 / month≈ €28.17 EUR

₹2,499 / month, billed yearly≈ €23.48 EUR

Enterprise

Custom volume pricing, custom SLA and dedicated infrastructure.

Per message to Austria · Rest of Western Europe (regional rate)

InfiQ per-message rates for Austria in rupees and EUR
Category₹ INREUR
Marketing₹5.2054€0.0489
Utility₹1.5019€0.0141
Authentication₹1.5019€0.0141
Service₹1.5019€0.0141
Per-message rates for all 47 markets, in ₹ and EUR
Per-message rates by market, effective 1 October 2026
MarketMarketingUtilityAuthenticationService
Argentina€0.0511₹5.4352€0.0215₹2.2874€0.0215₹2.2874€0.0215₹2.2874
Bangladesh€0.0605₹6.4397€0.0031₹0.3254€0.0031₹0.3254€0.0031₹0.3254
Brazil€0.0516₹5.4970€0.0056₹0.5981€0.0056₹0.5981€0.0056₹0.5981
Chile€0.0734₹7.8162€0.0165₹1.7585€0.0165₹1.7585€0.0165₹1.7585
Colombia€0.0103₹1.0993€0.0007₹0.0706€0.0007₹0.0706€0.0007₹0.0706
Egypt€0.0532₹5.6629€0.0030₹0.3167€0.0030₹0.3167€0.0030₹0.3167
France€0.0710₹7.5588€0.0248₹2.6393€0.0248₹2.6393€0.0248₹2.6393
Germany€0.113₹12.0088€0.0455₹4.8386€0.0455₹4.8386€0.0455₹4.8386
Hong Kong€0.0605₹6.4397€0.0215₹2.2867€0.0215₹2.2867€0.0215₹2.2867
Hungary€0.0710₹7.5596€0.0288₹3.0700€0.0288₹3.0700€0.0288₹3.0700
India€0.0089₹0.9435€0.0018₹0.1941€0.0013₹0.1402€0.0014₹0.1450
Indonesia€0.0339₹3.6133€0.0206₹2.1979€0.0206₹2.1979€0.0206₹2.1979
Iraq€0.0282₹2.9992€0.0065₹0.6943€0.0065₹0.6943€0.0065₹0.6943
Israel€0.0292₹3.1045€0.0044₹0.4662€0.0044₹0.4662€0.0044₹0.4662
Italy€0.0656₹6.9847€0.0248₹2.6369€0.0248₹2.6369€0.0248₹2.6369
Kazakhstan€0.0499₹5.3098€0.0149₹1.5824€0.0149₹1.5824€0.0149₹1.5824
Kuwait€0.0654₹6.9671€0.0363₹3.8671€0.0363₹3.8671€0.0363₹3.8671
Malaysia€0.0711₹7.5644€0.0116₹1.2314€0.0116₹1.2314€0.0116₹1.2314
Mexico€0.0328₹3.4877€0.0070₹0.7471€0.0070₹0.7471€0.0070₹0.7471
Morocco€0.0342₹3.6425€0.0190₹2.0218€0.0190₹2.0218€0.0190₹2.0218
Netherlands€0.132₹14.0494€0.0413₹4.3987€0.0413₹4.3987€0.0413₹4.3987
Nepal€0.0605₹6.4397€0.0028₹0.2990€0.0028₹0.2990€0.0028₹0.2990
Nigeria€0.0427₹4.5421€0.0055₹0.5898€0.0055₹0.5898€0.0055₹0.5898
Oman€0.0282₹2.9992€0.0204₹2.1709€0.0204₹2.1709€0.0204₹2.1709
Pakistan€0.0391₹4.1620€0.0124₹1.3200€0.0124₹1.3200€0.0124₹1.3200
Peru€0.0581₹6.1843€0.0248₹2.6392€0.0248₹2.6392€0.0248₹2.6392
Poland€0.0302₹3.2105€0.0101₹1.0702€0.0101₹1.0702€0.0101₹1.0702
Qatar€0.0282₹2.9992€0.0099₹1.0547€0.0099₹1.0547€0.0099₹1.0547
Romania€0.0710₹7.5596€0.0239₹2.5436€0.0239₹2.5436€0.0239₹2.5436
Russia€0.0662₹7.0520€0.0330₹3.5173€0.0330₹3.5173€0.0330₹3.5173
Saudi Arabia€0.0475₹5.0537€0.0088₹0.9401€0.0088₹0.9401€0.0088₹0.9401
Singapore€0.0605₹6.4397€0.0132₹1.4072€0.0132₹1.4072€0.0132₹1.4072
South Africa€0.0314₹3.3385€0.0079₹0.8369€0.0079₹0.8369€0.0079₹0.8369
Spain€0.0584₹6.2161€0.0165₹1.7578€0.0165₹1.7578€0.0165₹1.7578
Sri Lanka€0.0605₹6.4397€0.0017₹0.1759€0.0017₹0.1759€0.0017₹0.1759
Turkey€0.0090₹0.9587€0.0007₹0.0792€0.0007₹0.0792€0.0007₹0.0792
Ukraine€0.0710₹7.5596€0.0246₹2.6138€0.0246₹2.6138€0.0246₹2.6138
United Arab Emirates€0.0475₹5.0537€0.0130₹1.3811€0.0130₹1.3811€0.0130₹1.3811
United Kingdom€0.0524₹5.5795€0.0182₹1.9346€0.0182₹1.9346€0.0182₹1.9346
North America€0.0206₹2.1976€0.0028₹0.2989€0.0028₹0.2989€0.0028₹0.2989
Rest of Africa€0.0186₹1.9796€0.0033₹0.3516€0.0033₹0.3516€0.0033₹0.3516
Rest of Asia Pacific€0.0696₹7.4057€0.0093₹0.9938€0.0093₹0.9938€0.0093₹0.9938
Rest of Central & Eastern Europe€0.0710₹7.5596€0.0175₹1.8595€0.0175₹1.8595€0.0175₹1.8595
Rest of Latin America€0.0611₹6.5048€0.0093₹0.9934€0.0093₹0.9934€0.0093₹0.9934
Rest of Middle East€0.0324₹3.4490€0.0075₹0.7998€0.0075₹0.7998€0.0075₹0.7998
Rest of Western Europe€0.0489₹5.2054€0.0141₹1.5019€0.0141₹1.5019€0.0141₹1.5019
Other€0.0499₹5.3098€0.0064₹0.6769€0.0064₹0.6769€0.0064₹0.6769
Currency converter

€9.38 EUR

Indicative conversion at reference rates (ExchangeRate-API snapshot). InfiQ sets and invoices prices in Indian rupees, excluding GST; your bank’s rate on the day you pay will differ. Rates By Exchange Rate API.

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. Euro figures are indicative conversions. InfiQ invoices in rupees from India, with GST for Indian businesses.

Rates for every Meta market, plus plans and add-ons, are on one page.

See all plans and rates

On InfiQ

The InfiQ pieces behind the checklist

Each item on the § 174 checklist needs a record or a control. These are the ones InfiQ provides.

Consent records and opt-out enforcement

Each contact's opt-in source and time are recorded, STOP replies are enforced at platform level (even against later imports), and the audit trail exports.

Every Austrian opt-in stored with its source and time, STOP enforced at platform level even against later imports, and an audit trail to export when someone asks how a contact got on the list.

Learn more

Two ways in

Two starting points for Austria

Indian businesses can sign up and send; businesses based in Austria start with sales.

Your business is in India

  1. 1.

    Open the 7-day Lite trial

    A 7-day Lite trial, no card needed. Afterwards Lite costs ₹999 a month and Growth ₹2,999, billed in rupees with GST.

  2. 2.

    Complete Meta business verification

    Meta decides how long verification takes. Your number is live in about two hours once Meta business verification is complete.

  3. 3.

    Work through the checklist

    Consent before the first promotion, the four-condition test for existing customers, the ECG list, and STOP honoured at once.

  4. 4.

    Write de_AT templates

    Austrian German versions of your order, booking and service templates, with English for international customers.

Your business is in Austria

  1. 1.

    Talk to sales

    InfiQ serves India-based businesses. If your company is based in Austria, availability outside India goes through sales.

  2. 2.

    Know the model

    Billing in Indian rupees, customer data processed in India, support in English and Hindi on India time; InfiQ's subprocessor list is public.

City guides in Austria

Questions businesses ask about WhatsApp in Austria

Does § 174 TKG 2021 apply to WhatsApp marketing, or only to email and SMS?+
The text speaks of electronic mail including SMS and does not name messaging apps, so applying it to WhatsApp is an interpretation. It is the cautious reading, and WhatsApp's own policy requires opt-in regardless, so plan on prior consent for every promotional WhatsApp message to Austria.
When can we use the existing-customer exception in § 174(4) for WhatsApp offers?+
Only when all four conditions hold: the number came from a sale or service, the offer is for your own similar products, you offered a free and easy opt-out when collecting the number and in every message, and the person has not opted out in advance, for example through the ECG list. WhatsApp's policy still asks for their opt-in to messages from you.
What is the ECG list, and why does it matter for WhatsApp?+
It is the opt-out list under § 7(2) of the E-Commerce-Gesetz, referenced in § 174(4) TKG 2021. People on it may not receive direct-marketing mail under the existing-customer exception, so check it before relying on that exception for any electronic offer.
Should Austrian templates use de_AT or plain German?+
Use de_AT for customers in Austria. Meta lists German (Austria) as a separate template language from German, and each version is approved on its own. If one German text must serve Austria and Germany together, de is the shared option.
Can a Vienna regional headquarters run WhatsApp for its CEE markets on InfiQ?+
Technically, one account can hold templates in each market's language and a shared inbox can split conversations among agents by market. Commercially, InfiQ serves India-based businesses, so a headquarters based in Vienna starts with sales to find out whether availability outside India covers it.
Austrian teenagers use WhatsApp heavily. What does that say about adults?+
Not much. The only verified figure is from Saferinternet.at's 2026 survey of 11- to 17-year-olds, where 82% use WhatsApp, 5 points fewer than a year earlier. No verified adult figure was found, so measure response among your own opted-in customers before you scale.
Can customers pay by eps transfer from a WhatsApp message?+
InfiQ does not process payments inside WhatsApp. A utility template can carry a link to your payment page, and if your provider offers eps online transfers there, the customer can use them.
What does a WhatsApp message to an Austrian number cost?+
Austria is charged at Meta's Rest of Western Europe rate: on InfiQ, ₹5.21 per marketing message, ₹1.50 utility, ₹1.50 authentication and ₹1.50 per service reply, in rupees before GST. India's marketing rate, for comparison, is ₹0.94. Plans start at ₹999 a month.

Sources

Facts on this page were checked against these sources on the dates shown. InfiQ's rates come from its published rate card. Page updated 2026-10-20.

  1. [1]§ 174 TKG 2021, Unerbetene Nachrichten · JUSLINE (mirror of the official RIS text) · read 2026-10-20
  2. [2]Rechtsquellen (GDPR, DSG BGBl. I Nr. 165/1999) · Österreichische Datenschutzbehörde · read 2026-10-20
  3. [3]FAQ · Österreichische Datenschutzbehörde · read 2026-10-20
  4. [4]Wirtschaftsleistung Österreichs stieg 2025 um 0,7 % (press release, 30 September 2026) · Statistik Austria · read 2026-10-20
  5. [5]Headquarters · Austrian Business Agency (Invest in Austria) · read 2026-10-20
  6. [6]Time in Vienna, Austria · time.is · read 2026-10-20
  7. [7]Jugend-Internet-Monitor 2026 · Saferinternet.at · read 2026-10-20
  8. [8]Art. 8 B-VG · JUSLINE (mirror of the official RIS text) · read 2026-10-20
  9. [9]PSA Payment Services Austria · PSA Payment Services Austria · read 2026-10-20
  10. [10]Ankünfte und Nächtigungen · Statistik Austria · read 2026-10-20
  11. [11]Life Sciences · Austrian Business Agency (Invest in Austria) · read 2026-10-20
  12. [12]Mobility · Austrian Business Agency (Invest in Austria) · read 2026-10-20
  13. [13]WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy (updated 23 September 2026) · WhatsApp (Meta) · read 2026-10-20

Checklist done? Send to Austria on the official API

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