WhatsApp error 131042: Business eligibility payment issue

Code 131042 means the send was blocked because of a billing problem on the WhatsApp Business Account. Since billing is per delivered template message, Meta needs a working payment setup before it will deliver paid messages, and when that setup is missing or broken the API refuses with 131042. Meta's documentation lists the common problems explicitly: no payment account attached to the WABA, a credit line over its limit or not active, a deleted or suspended WABA, timezone or currency not set, a pending or declined on-behalf-of (MessagingFor) request, and exceeding any free threshold without a valid payment method.

It usually appears the first time a new WABA tries to send a template to a real customer, because the test number phase never required billing. It can also appear suddenly on a mature account when a card expires or a credit line is paused.

Your message, template, and recipient are fine. This is resolved in Business Manager, not in code.

Make billing setup part of your go-live checklist, ahead of the first production template send, and subscribe to account_update webhooks so payment or status problems reach your team before customers notice. For partner-managed accounts, document who owns billing so a declined MessagingFor request is not discovered through 131042. Billing setup is also the moment to estimate real message costs with the WhatsApp API cost calculator; pricing categories are summarized in the limits reference. If the account itself is restricted rather than unbilled, see 368.