Account restrictions and policy
The ArabyBot teamOfficial Meta partner · written from our own platform data
WhatsApp error 130497: Messaging this customer's country is not allowed for your business
The ArabyBot teamOfficial Meta partner · written from our own platform dataThe short answer
Error 130497 means your business category is not allowed to message users in this customer's country under WhatsApp Business policy. Resending does not help; check the allowed countries for your category, and reach customers there through another channel.
What it stopsThis customer only
Retry?No — repeating will not help
Where the fix isMeta (temporary)
Why error 130497 appears
- Some business categories, such as certain financial or regulated services, are restricted in specific countries.
How to fix it, step by step
- Check the messaging policy for your category
WhatsApp Business policy lists the allowed countries per category.
- Use another channel for that country
Email, SMS or a call.
Related codes
- 368The account is temporarily restricted for a policy violation
- 131031The account is locked or its data failed verification
- 131064Messaging is limited for wrong template categories
- 131042A payment-method problem stops sending
- 132012Variable values are not in the template's format
- 131026The message could not be delivered to this number
Every WhatsApp error code, grouped by kind ←
Source: Meta's official error code reference, with what we see on our own platform.
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The ArabyBot teamOfficial Meta business partner in the Middle East