As of June 2026, WhatsApp users can adopt an @username and hide their number from businesses they've never talked to. For banks the impact is contained: the number stays visible for customers active in the last 30 days or already in the Contact Book, and the new Business-Scoped User ID (BSUID) —present since March 2026— becomes the identity key. It's already built into Delto.
Throughout its entire history, WhatsApp built user identity on a single variable: the phone number. It was simple, universal, and it worked. But that model is starting to change. As of June 2026, users can adopt a username , an optional @handle, and when they do, their number can stop being visible to businesses they've had no prior contact with. For anyone running conversational solutions on WhatsApp —and especially for banks and financial institutions, where the phone number plays roles well beyond identification— the question is fair: what's the operational impact? The direct answer is that the impact is contained, well anticipated by Meta, and already covered in Delto's platform. But it's worth understanding the mechanism to make decisions with clarity. What is changing in WhatsApp? The change has two dimensions. The first is visible to end users: they can register an @handle that becomes their public identity on the platform, similar to what Telegram or Instagram have offered for years. The number still exists, but it can be hidden from certain parties. The second dimension is the one that matters for businesses: when a user with a username starts a conversation with a business for the first time, that business may not receive the phone number. Only the message and a new identifier Meta introduced in parallel. The nuance is worth underlining, because it defines the real scope of the change: the number doesn't disappear for all users, nor overnight. It remains present in three scenarios that concentrate the vast majority of today's operational volume: Users without a username (the vast majority, at least in the early years): the number stays unchanged. Users with a username who already interacted with the business in the last 30 days: the number is retained. Users in the business's Contact Book , the new automatic address book Meta began maintaining in April 2026 with prior contacts: the number stays on file. In other words: if a customer has already talked to your bank, their number is still there. The only scenario that changes is a brand-new user, with a username, messaging for the first time. What is the Business-Scoped User ID (BSUID)? To keep the transition from creating discontinuity, Meta introduced the Business-Scoped User ID (BSUID) in parallel: a unique identifier it assigns to each user for each business they interact with. Three characteristics make it operationally relevant: It's always present. It arrives in every conversation since March 2026, regardless of whether the user has a username and whether they share their number. It's the new floor on which identity operates in WhatsApp Business. It's specific to each relationship. The same user has a different BSUID for each business they talk to. This is by privacy design: no company can use this identifier to cross-reference data with another. It replaces the single-key function. It plays the role the phone number plays today as a stable identifier: it lets you recognize the user, retrieve their history, and continue the conversation even when the number isn't available. The BSUID is not a stopgap: it's the identity model WhatsApp Business is permanently migrating to. Platforms that adopt it today are building on the right foundations for the years ahead. Concrete implications for banking The change touches three dimensions of conversational banking operations. Conversation continuity and customer recognition User recognition stops depending exclusively on the number and starts leaning on the BSUID. For the existing customer base, with history recorded by their number, there's no perceptible change. For new users messaging with a username, recognition happens via BSUID from the first message. Outbound campaigns and proactive communications Campaigns to known phone numbers work exactly the same. WhatsApp lets you send outbound messages to either a number or a BSUID, so collections , product notifications, onboarding campaigns, and proactive communications are unaffected. The only limitation is that you can't initiate contact knowing only a user's username: Meta does not expose that lookup. Cases where the number is a business data point At many financial institutions, the phone number isn't just a conversational identifier: it's used to validate identity against core banking systems, send OTPs, link to customer records, and meet KYC requirements. For these cases, when a new user messages without sharing their number, Meta provides specific mechanisms to request it within the conversation, including a native number-request button. It's a flow adjustment, not a structural problem. How is Delto approaching this? We've been preparing the platform since Meta announced the changes, with work organized along clear fronts: The BSUID is already incorporated as an identity key across the platform, coexisting with the phone number. Existing customers keep their history; new users can be recognized from the first message, with or without a number available. Message and campaign sending is being updated to support both recipient formats without changing the user experience. Daily operations —loading audiences, scheduling campaigns, viewing results— don't change for teams operating on Delto. Analytics and reporting are being adjusted internally so the information stays accurate during and after the transition. The dashboards and metrics CX and operations teams use today will keep working with no visible interruptions. Individual support for customers with sensitive cases. For verticals where the number is critical business data —transactional banking, insurance, healthcare— the Delto team works case by case to adjust onboarding flows, enable Meta's Contact Book, and validate authentication processes. The goal is clear: to make the change transparent for our customers and for the end users of their conversational solutions. The bigger picture Changes like this can sound disruptive in the headline, but the operational reality is calmer. Meta designed the transition with multiple mechanisms so businesses don't lose continuity: the number stays visible for known contacts, there's a robust alternative identifier available since March, and sensitive cases have specific solutions. The change also responds to a broader trend banking already knows well: users demand greater control over their personal data. The phone number is sensitive information, and giving users the option not to share it with every business is consistent with the global regulatory direction, from GDPR to the data protection laws consolidating across Latin America. If you operate a conversational solution on Delto's platform, there's nothing to worry about. The changes are already underway, and the team will contact you individually if your case requires any specific action. If you have questions about how this affects your operation, get in touch . We're here to support the transition. More on the changes announced by Meta: Business-Scoped User IDs — Meta for Developers .
Does the phone number disappear on WhatsApp for banks? No. The number stays visible for users without a username, for those who interacted with the business in the last 30 days, and for contacts stored in Meta's Contact Book. The only scenario that changes is a brand-new user, with a username, messaging for the first time.
What is the Business-Scoped User ID (BSUID)? It's a unique identifier Meta assigns to each user for each business they interact with. It's present in every conversation since March 2026, it's distinct per business-user relationship (so no company can cross-reference data with another), and it takes over the stable-key role the phone number used to play.
Does this change affect collections campaigns and proactive outreach? No. Campaigns to known numbers work exactly the same, and WhatsApp lets you send outbound messages to either a number or a BSUID. The only limitation is that you can't initiate contact knowing only a user's username: Meta does not expose that lookup.