Lazio
WhatsApp Business API for Indian firms serving customers in Rome
Italy is home to what its own embassy in New Delhi calls the largest Indian community in the European Union. In Rome, many of those customers would rather write to you in their own language than in Italian or English.
- Region
- Lazio
- Country
- Italy
- Indian community
- The largest in the EU, according to the Italian Embassy in New Delhi[1]
- Overseas Indians in Italy
- 251,049, of them 171,429 Indian citizens (January 2026)[2]
- India–Italy goods trade
- US$14.46 billion in FY26[3]
- Clock
- CET, CEST in summer: 4h30 behind IST in winter, 3h30 in summer[4]
A Rome business
- Namaste! Two tickets from Rome to Delhi for Diwali week, please. We fly from Fiumicino.
- Namaste! Three Fiumicino–Delhi options are in the list below, with times in Rome and India.
- The second one. Can the e-tickets come here?
- Yes. Both e-tickets will arrive in this chat as PDFs once the payment clears.
For India-based travel agents, banks, developers and tour operators with customers in Rome: how to build a click-to-chat link in Hindi, Punjabi or Malayalam that still prints well, which template languages to approve, how +39 and +91 numbers are billed, and when to send on Rome time.
See it work
A chat link in the customer's own script
Pick the message a customer in Rome might find pre-filled when they tap your link or scan your flyer, and see what the link has to carry.
A link that opens a chat with a greeting in Hindi, Punjabi or Malayalam already typed tells the customer they can carry on in that language. When they press Send, the 24-hour window opens and your agents can answer in the same script without a template.
The cost is length. A twenty-letter greeting in an Indian script becomes well over a hundred characters once encoded, and a long link prints as a dense QR code that cheap flyers and phone cameras struggle with. Keep the pre-fill to a greeting and the route, test the printed code on two or three phones, and put the detail in your reply.
The number in the link is digits only, with the country code: an Indian business number as 91 and ten digits. Conversations then run in the shared team inbox.
Pre-filled messages from Rome, encoded for wa.me
A URL can only carry a small set of characters; everything else travels as %XX bytes.
Try spaces, &, ?, # or ₹.
- Characters in
- 40
- Characters out
- 312
- 40 characters became %XX escapes; letters, digits and - _ . ! ~ * ' ( ) pass through unchanged.
- Spaces became %20. HTML forms use + for a space instead — never mix the two styles.
- Non-ASCII characters are UTF-8 encoded first, one %XX per byte: न → %E0%A4%A8.
Italy and India, from both governments' figures
The community and the trade that put Rome numbers in Indian contact lists.
The Italian Embassy in New Delhi describes Italy's Indian community as the largest in the European Union, and says a growing number of Indian students and workers choose Italy each year.[1]
India's Ministry of External Affairs counts 251,049 overseas Indians in Italy as of January 2026: 171,429 Indian citizens and 79,620 people of Indian origin.[2]
Italy and India launched a Strategic Partnership in March 2023 and later signed a Joint Strategic Action Plan, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio, covering areas from the economy and connectivity to culture and tourism.[1]
The Embassy says bilateral trade in goods and services almost doubled between 2017 and 2023 to more than €14 billion, and calls India Italy's second-largest trading partner in Asia.[1]
In FY26 India exported US$7.79 billion of goods to Italy and imported US$6.67 billion; engineering goods led India's exports, with ready-made garments, coffee and leather among the rest.[3]
Industries
Indian businesses with customers in Rome
Two directions: Indians living in Rome who buy services from home, and travellers from India arriving in Rome.
- 01
Travel agents booking trips home
Indian families living in Italy fly home for weddings and festivals, and want tickets and changes where they already chat.
On WhatsApp: E-ticket delivery as PDFs · Schedule-change alerts · Festival-season fares for opted-in customers
- 02
Banks, insurers and developers serving NRIs
The 171,429 Indian citizens the ministry counts in Italy keep accounts, policies and property plans in India.[2]
On WhatsApp: Remittance and account alerts · Premium and EMI due reminders · Construction updates and site-visit bookings
- 03
Tour operators bringing groups to Rome
Travellers from India arrive at Fiumicino on their +91 numbers and expect the day's plan in the chat they used to book.
On WhatsApp: Vouchers and entry times · Pickup details on landing · Day-by-day itinerary changes
- 04
Garment, coffee and leather exporters
Ready-made garments, coffee and leather are among India's exports to Italy, sold to buyers who want order status in writing.[3]
On WhatsApp: Order acknowledgement · Dispatch and arrival updates · Sample requests answered by an agent
Template languages for Rome customers
Meta approves each language version separately. For Indian customers in Rome, plan the Indian languages first and Italian second.
Inside the 24-hour window your agents can reply in any language the customer writes. InfiQ's own support team works India time, in English and Hindi.
| Language | Meta code | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Hindi | hi | Customers and families who read Devanagari |
| Punjabi | pa | Customers who read Gurmukhi more comfortably than English |
| Malayalam | ml | Customers who read Malayalam, from Kerala and its diaspora |
| Italian | it | Second-generation customers and Italian partners |
| English (India) | en_IN | Bank and insurance notices that must read formally |
Prices in ₹ and EUR
What a message to a Rome number costs
Rome numbers are billed at Italy's line of Meta's rate card: ₹6.98 for marketing, ₹2.64 for utility, ₹2.64 for authentication and ₹2.64 for each service reply, in rupees before GST. 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
Everything a growing business needs to run WhatsApp properly.
Growth
₹2,999 / month≈ €28.17 EUR
₹2,499 / month, billed yearly≈ €23.48 EUR
Lite, plus the API, automation and team scale serious senders need.
Enterprise
Custom volume pricing, custom SLA and dedicated infrastructure.
Per message to Rome · Italy
| Category | ₹ INR | EUR |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing | ₹6.9847 | €0.0656 |
| Utility | ₹2.6369 | €0.0248 |
| Authentication | ₹2.6369 | €0.0248 |
| Service | ₹2.6369 | €0.0248 |
Per-message rates for all 47 markets, in ₹ and EUR
| Market | Marketing | Utility | Authentication | Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
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. Travellers from India in Rome, and residents who kept their Indian number, are billed at the India rate: ₹0.19 for a utility update to a +91 number. Euro amounts in the converter are for budgeting; InfiQ invoices in rupees.
Work out your own monthly cost by message type.
Calculate your exact costOn InfiQ
What an Indian team uses for Rome
Template manager and library
Draft, submit and track WhatsApp message templates for Meta's approval, starting from a library of 1,000+ ready templates in 27 categories.
Hindi, Punjabi, Malayalam and Italian versions of the same ticket or voucher template, each tracked through Meta's approval.
Learn moreShared team inbox
Agents who read Gurmukhi or Malayalam can be assigned the threads in those scripts, with transfers when a case changes hands.
Consent records and opt-out enforcement
Italy's privacy regulator applies its consent rule for promotions to WhatsApp, so each Rome customer's opt-in is stored with its source and time.
Nearby
City pages near Rome
Italian city pages first, then the nearest pages in neighbouring countries.
The Garante's consent rules and the Italy rate apply nationwide; the Italy guide covers them in full.
Guides for Rome teams
Questions Rome businesses ask
Indian families in Rome book Diwali flights home through us. Can e-tickets and schedule changes go on WhatsApp?+
Our click-to-chat link with a Punjabi greeting prints as a messy QR code on flyers in Rome. Why?+
Our tour groups from India land at Fiumicino. How should pickup details reach them?+
Can our templates for Indian customers in Rome be in Italian as well as Hindi?+
When should a Diwali offer leave India to reach customers in Rome at 18:00?+
We opened a company in Rome to serve Indian families living there. Can it hold the InfiQ account?+
Sources
Facts on this page were checked against these sources on the dates shown. Page updated 2026-10-20.
- [1]Italy & India · Embassy of Italy, New Delhi · read 2026-10-20
- [2]Population of Overseas Indians (as of January 2026) · Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India · read 2026-10-20
- [3]India–Italy trade (updated October 2026) · India Brand Equity Foundation · read 2026-10-20
- [4]tzdb 'europe' file: Europe/Rome and EU summer-time rules · IANA Time Zone Database · read 2026-10-20
Write to Rome in your customers' languages
Start a 7-day Lite trial, no card needed, and get your Hindi, Punjabi or Malayalam templates approved once Meta verification is complete. If your business is based in Rome, talk to sales about whether InfiQ fits.
Route
Rome
Official WhatsApp Business Platform
