New Delhi → Southampton · England, United Kingdom
WhatsApp Business API for Indian firms with cruise travellers and buyers in Southampton
About 3 million cruise passengers a year pass through Southampton, and 600,000 vehicles cross its quays. Many of the messages an Indian business sends there go to travellers who still carry their +91 number, and that decides the rate.
- From New Delhi
- ≈6,810 km
- Southampton clock
- 4 h 30 min behind India
- Nation
- England
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Postcode
- SO14 for the city centre and docks; numbers +44 23
- Cruise
- Five terminals, about 3 million passengers a year[1]
- Vehicles
- 600,000 a year; the UK's number one vehicle-handling port[1]
- Clock
- GMT (UTC+0); BST (UTC+1) from late March to late October[4]
- Billing
- ₹ from InfiQ; sterling figures are indicative
For Indian tour operators, vehicle and parts exporters and education services with travellers, buyers or students in Southampton: which rate applies when an Indian traveller is at the cruise terminal, how PECR treats offers to UK firms, when to send on UK time, and what a +44 message costs in rupees.
See it work
A Mumbai operator's messages to a traveller sailing from Southampton
Step through the thread between a tour operator in India and a traveller whose phone keeps its +91 number all the way to the cruise terminal.
Every message in the thread is a utility template or a reply, so none of it is marketing, and none needs the PECR consent a promotion would. What it needs is the traveller's opt-in to WhatsApp messages from the operator, taken on the booking form.
If the traveller buys a UK SIM and asks to be messaged on it, the same templates are billed at the UK rate instead. Store the number the traveller chose, not the one you assume.
Booking to sailing day, on a +91 number
- Tour operatorMumbai
- InfiQWhatsApp API
- Traveller+91 number
Step 7 of 7Request
InfiQTraveller
Utility template after the voyage: final invoice
- Request — solid arrow — a call that expects an answer
- Response — dashed arrow — the answer coming back
- Event — dotted arrow — something happened and is pushed out
- Async — double head — fire-and-forget, nobody waits
Step 7 of 7: InfiQ to Traveller — Utility template after the voyage: final invoice
Market brief
The port, and a university that also teaches in India
From Associated British Ports and the University of Southampton.
- 01
Associated British Ports calls Southampton Europe's leading turnaround cruise port, with about 3 million passengers a year through five cruise terminals.[1]
- 02
It handles 600,000 vehicles a year, which ABP says makes it the UK's number one vehicle-handling port, and it is home to the UK's second-largest container terminal.[1]
- 03
ABP describes the port as the UK's number one hub for deep-sea trade, with exports worth £40 billion a year, £36 billion of them to markets outside the EU.[1]
- 04
The port supports 45,600 jobs, about £2.5 billion a year for the UK economy, and 11,700 automotive jobs in the West Midlands.[1]
- 05
The University of Southampton, a Russell Group member, runs a UGC-approved campus at the International Tech Park in Gurugram, whose second cohort of students started in 2026.[2],[3]
Who messages what
Who in India writes to Southampton
Three kinds of Indian sender, matched to what the port and the university do.
| Sector | What it sends on WhatsApp |
|---|---|
| Tour operators and cruise sellersAbout 3 million passengers a year use Southampton's five cruise terminals; an Indian operator's traveller needs documents, terminal details and reminders.[1] |
|
| Vehicle and parts exportersThe UK's number one vehicle-handling port and a deep-sea trade hub, linked to 11,700 automotive jobs in the West Midlands.[1] |
|
| Education consultants and edtechThe University of Southampton teaches in Southampton and at its UGC-approved campus in Gurugram, so applicants may hold either a UK or an Indian number.[3] |
|
Prices in ₹ and GBP
Two rates for one Southampton sailing
UK numbers have their own line on Meta's card: ₹1.93 for a utility template, ₹5.58 for marketing, ₹1.93 for a passcode and ₹1.93 per service reply, in rupees before GST. A traveller who keeps a +91 number pays the India rate: ₹0.19 and ₹0.145.
Snapshot rates · as of 20 Oct 2026, 00:02 UTC
Lite
₹999 / month≈ £7.90 GBP
₹833 / month, billed yearly≈ £6.59 GBP
Everything a growing business needs to run WhatsApp properly.
Growth
₹2,999 / month≈ £23.72 GBP
₹2,499 / month, billed yearly≈ £19.76 GBP
Lite, plus the API, automation and team scale serious senders need.
Enterprise
Custom volume pricing, custom SLA and dedicated infrastructure.
Per message to Southampton · United Kingdom
| Category | ₹ INR | GBP |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing | ₹5.5795 | £0.0441 |
| Utility | ₹1.9346 | £0.0153 |
| Authentication | ₹1.9346 | £0.0153 |
| Service | ₹1.9346 | £0.0153 |
Per-message rates for all 47 markets, in ₹ and GBP
| Market | Marketing | Utility | Authentication | Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | £0.0430₹5.4352 | £0.0181₹2.2874 | £0.0181₹2.2874 | £0.0181₹2.2874 |
| Bangladesh | £0.0509₹6.4397 | £0.0026₹0.3254 | £0.0026₹0.3254 | £0.0026₹0.3254 |
| Brazil | £0.0435₹5.4970 | £0.0047₹0.5981 | £0.0047₹0.5981 | £0.0047₹0.5981 |
| Chile | £0.0618₹7.8162 | £0.0139₹1.7585 | £0.0139₹1.7585 | £0.0139₹1.7585 |
| Colombia | £0.0087₹1.0993 | £0.0006₹0.0706 | £0.0006₹0.0706 | £0.0006₹0.0706 |
| Egypt | £0.0448₹5.6629 | £0.0025₹0.3167 | £0.0025₹0.3167 | £0.0025₹0.3167 |
| France | £0.0598₹7.5588 | £0.0209₹2.6393 | £0.0209₹2.6393 | £0.0209₹2.6393 |
| Germany | £0.0950₹12.0088 | £0.0383₹4.8386 | £0.0383₹4.8386 | £0.0383₹4.8386 |
| Hong Kong | £0.0509₹6.4397 | £0.0181₹2.2867 | £0.0181₹2.2867 | £0.0181₹2.2867 |
| Hungary | £0.0598₹7.5596 | £0.0243₹3.0700 | £0.0243₹3.0700 | £0.0243₹3.0700 |
| India | £0.0075₹0.9435 | £0.0015₹0.1941 | £0.0011₹0.1402 | £0.0011₹0.1450 |
| Indonesia | £0.0286₹3.6133 | £0.0174₹2.1979 | £0.0174₹2.1979 | £0.0174₹2.1979 |
| Iraq | £0.0237₹2.9992 | £0.0055₹0.6943 | £0.0055₹0.6943 | £0.0055₹0.6943 |
| Israel | £0.0246₹3.1045 | £0.0037₹0.4662 | £0.0037₹0.4662 | £0.0037₹0.4662 |
| Italy | £0.0552₹6.9847 | £0.0209₹2.6369 | £0.0209₹2.6369 | £0.0209₹2.6369 |
| Kazakhstan | £0.0420₹5.3098 | £0.0125₹1.5824 | £0.0125₹1.5824 | £0.0125₹1.5824 |
| Kuwait | £0.0551₹6.9671 | £0.0306₹3.8671 | £0.0306₹3.8671 | £0.0306₹3.8671 |
| Malaysia | £0.0598₹7.5644 | £0.0097₹1.2314 | £0.0097₹1.2314 | £0.0097₹1.2314 |
| Mexico | £0.0276₹3.4877 | £0.0059₹0.7471 | £0.0059₹0.7471 | £0.0059₹0.7471 |
| Morocco | £0.0288₹3.6425 | £0.0160₹2.0218 | £0.0160₹2.0218 | £0.0160₹2.0218 |
| Netherlands | £0.111₹14.0494 | £0.0348₹4.3987 | £0.0348₹4.3987 | £0.0348₹4.3987 |
| Nepal | £0.0509₹6.4397 | £0.0024₹0.2990 | £0.0024₹0.2990 | £0.0024₹0.2990 |
| Nigeria | £0.0359₹4.5421 | £0.0047₹0.5898 | £0.0047₹0.5898 | £0.0047₹0.5898 |
| Oman | £0.0237₹2.9992 | £0.0172₹2.1709 | £0.0172₹2.1709 | £0.0172₹2.1709 |
| Pakistan | £0.0329₹4.1620 | £0.0104₹1.3200 | £0.0104₹1.3200 | £0.0104₹1.3200 |
| Peru | £0.0489₹6.1843 | £0.0209₹2.6392 | £0.0209₹2.6392 | £0.0209₹2.6392 |
| Poland | £0.0254₹3.2105 | £0.0085₹1.0702 | £0.0085₹1.0702 | £0.0085₹1.0702 |
| Qatar | £0.0237₹2.9992 | £0.0083₹1.0547 | £0.0083₹1.0547 | £0.0083₹1.0547 |
| Romania | £0.0598₹7.5596 | £0.0201₹2.5436 | £0.0201₹2.5436 | £0.0201₹2.5436 |
| Russia | £0.0558₹7.0520 | £0.0278₹3.5173 | £0.0278₹3.5173 | £0.0278₹3.5173 |
| Saudi Arabia | £0.0400₹5.0537 | £0.0074₹0.9401 | £0.0074₹0.9401 | £0.0074₹0.9401 |
| Singapore | £0.0509₹6.4397 | £0.0111₹1.4072 | £0.0111₹1.4072 | £0.0111₹1.4072 |
| South Africa | £0.0264₹3.3385 | £0.0066₹0.8369 | £0.0066₹0.8369 | £0.0066₹0.8369 |
| Spain | £0.0492₹6.2161 | £0.0139₹1.7578 | £0.0139₹1.7578 | £0.0139₹1.7578 |
| Sri Lanka | £0.0509₹6.4397 | £0.0014₹0.1759 | £0.0014₹0.1759 | £0.0014₹0.1759 |
| Turkey | £0.0076₹0.9587 | £0.0006₹0.0792 | £0.0006₹0.0792 | £0.0006₹0.0792 |
| Ukraine | £0.0598₹7.5596 | £0.0207₹2.6138 | £0.0207₹2.6138 | £0.0207₹2.6138 |
| United Arab Emirates | £0.0400₹5.0537 | £0.0109₹1.3811 | £0.0109₹1.3811 | £0.0109₹1.3811 |
| United Kingdom | £0.0441₹5.5795 | £0.0153₹1.9346 | £0.0153₹1.9346 | £0.0153₹1.9346 |
| North America | £0.0174₹2.1976 | £0.0024₹0.2989 | £0.0024₹0.2989 | £0.0024₹0.2989 |
| Rest of Africa | £0.0157₹1.9796 | £0.0028₹0.3516 | £0.0028₹0.3516 | £0.0028₹0.3516 |
| Rest of Asia Pacific | £0.0586₹7.4057 | £0.0079₹0.9938 | £0.0079₹0.9938 | £0.0079₹0.9938 |
| Rest of Central & Eastern Europe | £0.0598₹7.5596 | £0.0147₹1.8595 | £0.0147₹1.8595 | £0.0147₹1.8595 |
| Rest of Latin America | £0.0514₹6.5048 | £0.0079₹0.9934 | £0.0079₹0.9934 | £0.0079₹0.9934 |
| Rest of Middle East | £0.0273₹3.4490 | £0.0063₹0.7998 | £0.0063₹0.7998 | £0.0063₹0.7998 |
| Rest of Western Europe | £0.0412₹5.2054 | £0.0119₹1.5019 | £0.0119₹1.5019 | £0.0119₹1.5019 |
| Other | £0.0420₹5.3098 | £0.0054₹0.6769 | £0.0054₹0.6769 | £0.0054₹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. Plans start at ₹999 a month. Most cruise and shipment traffic is utility, so the cost follows bookings and consignments. Sterling figures are indicative; InfiQ invoices in rupees.
Work out your own monthly cost by message type.
Calculate your exact costEnglish (UK) for the quay, Indian languages for travellers
Meta approves each template once per language: UK contacts get en_GB, travellers from India the language they chose at booking.
Replies inside the 24-hour window can be in any language your staff write. InfiQ's own support team works in English and Hindi.
| Language | Meta code | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| English (UK) | en_GB | Dealers, port agents, UK firms and university offices |
| English (India) | en_IN | Travellers and applicants in India who read English |
| Hindi | hi | Travellers who prefer Hindi for documents and reminders |
On InfiQ
What an Indian operator or exporter runs for Southampton
Reminders sent on time from India, and replies handled by whoever is on shift.
Developer API and webhooks
A REST API with scoped keys, idempotency keys and per-key rate limits, plus HMAC-SHA256-signed webhooks retried for 24 hours. Included on Growth, an add-on on Lite.
Your booking system or TMS sends the checklist, embarkation reminder and arrival notice as templates when a booking or a vessel changes status.
Learn moreShared team inbox
A traveller's question from the terminal queue lands in one shared inbox, so whoever is on shift in India answers inside the window.
Consent records and opt-out enforcement
Each traveller's and buyer's opt-in source and time is stored, separately for updates and offers, the record PECR's consent rule expects for promotions.
Published per-market rates
The UK and India rates are both published in rupees, so a sailing's messages can be costed whichever number each traveller uses.
Nearby
City pages near Southampton
The nearest city guides on this site, in southern England and across the Channel.
PECR, UK GDPR and the UK rate apply across the country; the United Kingdom guide covers them in full.
Guides for Southampton teams
Questions Southampton businesses ask
Question: Our cruise passengers from Mumbai sail from Southampton. Which rate applies when we message them there?
Answer: The rate for their number, not their location. A traveller who keeps a +91 number is billed at the India rate, ₹0.19 for a utility template, even at the Southampton terminal; one who switches to a UK SIM and asks you to use it is billed at ₹1.93.
Question: A traveller writes to us from a Southampton cruise terminal at 11:00. How long can our Mumbai desk reply without a template?
Answer: For 24 hours from the traveller's last message. 11:00 in Southampton in summer is 15:30 IST, so the desk has until the same time next day, and each new message from the traveller restarts the clock. Each reply to a +91 number costs ₹0.145.
Question: We export vehicle parts to UK dealers supplied through Southampton. Can we send them our new catalogue on WhatsApp?
Answer: Possibly, but get an opt-in. PECR lets you text corporate subscribers without consent, but sole traders and some partnerships count as individuals, and the ICO does not say how WhatsApp is treated. Meta's policy asks for an opt-in either way. The United Kingdom guide explains the rules.
Question: When should an embarkation reminder leave India to reach travellers at 08:00 on a Southampton sailing day?
Answer: At 12:30 IST while the UK is on British Summer Time and at 13:30 IST from 25 October 2026, when its clocks go back to GMT, until 28 March 2027. India does not change its clocks, so schedule by Southampton time.
Question: The University of Southampton also teaches in Gurugram. Do our messages to its students pay the UK or the India rate?
Answer: It depends on the student's number. A student at the Gurugram campus on a +91 number is billed at the India rate, ₹0.19 for a fee receipt; one studying in Southampton on a UK number is billed at ₹1.93. Record which number each student wants used.
Question: Our travel company has a booking agent in Southampton and its head office in Ahmedabad. Which one should hold the InfiQ account?
Answer: The Ahmedabad head office. InfiQ serves India-based businesses, bills in rupees with GST and keeps customer data in India, and it can message +44 numbers at the published UK rate. If your business is based in Southampton, talk to sales about whether InfiQ fits.
Sources
Facts on this page were checked against these sources on the dates shown. Page updated 2026-10-20.
- [1]Port of Southampton · Associated British Ports · read 2026-10-20
- [2]About the University · University of Southampton · read 2026-10-20
- [3]University of Southampton Delhi campus · University of Southampton Delhi · read 2026-10-20
- [4]tzdb 'europe' file: Europe/London (GMT/BST) and the EU rule · IANA Time Zone Database · read 2026-10-20
Send Southampton sailing reminders on WhatsApp
Start a 7-day Lite trial, no card needed, and connect your booking system once Meta business verification is complete. If your business is based in Southampton, talk to sales about whether InfiQ fits.
