Whatsapp has officially announced that it is doing away with the annual fee model. Though this charge never got charged, but now you need not worry about it, at all.

The company, on it’s official blog stated, “Nearly a billion people around the world today rely on WhatsApp to stay in touch with their friends and family. From a new dad in Indonesia sharing photos with his family, to a student in Spain checking in with her friends back home, to a doctor in Brazil keeping in touch with her patients, people rely on WhatsApp to be fast, simple and reliable. That’s why we’re happy to announce that WhatsApp will no longer charge subscription fees.”

Whatsapp’s new revenue model

The company gave hint about how it is planning to earn money. The company is testing the Enterprise field, which, as compared to charging a buck to retail customer, is much more greener. And, it makes sense!

With the decline of SMS usage, the next most popular alternative is Whatsapp, globally (barring China). And, today even my doctor chats with me on Whatsapp to take ad-hoc updates on my health.

If you dive a bit deep, there are small shopkeeper who are taking orders from their regular customers on the go, without the hassle of getting listed on any shopping app.

This is a big opportunity for Whatsapp to tap in to and turn this unorganized business in to a big business for itself. If you are thinking it might not work, think again. Flipkart has just recently launched a feature with which you can chat with your friends while shopping on their website / app. What is this chat service was actually powered by Whatsapp? Or, Whatsapp could be deep-linked with such apps for taking the conversations ahead without leaving the main app?

Our thought is Whatsapp is on the right track and is taking the next logical step. This will, one, keep it’s retail customers to it and second, will allow it provide an ad-free experience to it’s customers.

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