A WhatsApp gold savings scheme lets a jeweller enrol customers by QR code at the counter, send each monthly instalment reminder with a UPI payment link, and deliver an instant receipt with a passbook-style balance in the same chat. On RichAutomate it starts at ₹0 setup and ₹0 monthly on pay-as-you-go, and in our worked example an 11+1 scheme customer costs about ₹22 a year in WhatsApp messages on SaaS Pay.
Monthly gold schemes, often sold as "11+1", "10+1" or swarna savings plans, are one of the strongest repeat-visit tools an Indian jewellery store has. They also generate a lot of admin: reminder calls, paper passbooks, chasing missed months and booking redemption visits. This guide shows how to move that whole cycle onto the WhatsApp Business API, which template category to use for each message, what it costs per customer per year, and which compliance questions you must take to your CA before you scale.
What is a WhatsApp gold savings scheme?
A gold savings scheme is a fixed-tenure monthly instalment plan in which a customer deposits a set amount with a jeweller every month and redeems the accumulated value, usually with a bonus or making-charge discount, for jewellery at maturity. A WhatsApp gold savings scheme runs the same plan, but every customer touchpoint (enrolment, reminders, payment, receipt, balance, maturity and redemption booking) happens inside WhatsApp instead of on paper and phone calls.
Most Indian jewellers run one of three common structures. Terms vary from store to store, so treat the table below as a description of typical patterns, not a recommendation.
| Scheme type | How it usually works | What WhatsApp automates |
|---|---|---|
| 11+1 instalment plan | Customer pays 11 equal monthly instalments; jeweller adds a bonus roughly equal to one instalment at redemption | 11 reminders, 11 receipts, bonus and maturity alert |
| 10+1 instalment plan | Customer pays 10 instalments; one bonus instalment or discount at the end | 10 reminders, 10 receipts, maturity alert |
| Gold-weight accumulation plan | Each instalment is converted to grams at that day's gold rate and credited to the customer's account | Receipt showing grams credited and total grams to date |
| Kitty-style monthly deposit | Flexible monthly amount, redeemed against a jewellery purchase later | Running balance, redemption reminders |
Whatever the structure, the operational problem is the same: hundreds or thousands of customers, each with a due date, a running balance and a maturity month. That is exactly the kind of repetitive, personalised messaging the WhatsApp Business API handles well. If you are still choosing a platform, our comparison of the best WhatsApp Business API for jewellers in India covers the shortlist.
Enrolment via WhatsApp: QR at the counter and opt-in
Enrolment is where most schemes leak. A customer shows interest, the salesperson writes a number on a slip, and nobody follows up. WhatsApp fixes this by making enrolment a 60-second chat.
- Click-to-chat QR at the counter. Print a QR that opens a chat with your business number and pre-fills a message like "Join Gold Scheme". Place it on the counter, the billing desk, shopping bags and your Google Business Profile.
- Customer sends the message. This opens a 24-hour customer service window, so every reply your bot sends during enrolment is a free service message from Meta.
- Bot collects details. Name, preferred scheme (11+1, 10+1 or weight-based), monthly amount and preferred due date, using list messages and reply buttons so customers tap instead of type.
- Explicit opt-in. Ask clearly: "Can we send your monthly instalment reminders and receipts on WhatsApp?" with Yes / No buttons. Store the answer and timestamp. Ask separately for gold-rate and festival offers, because those are marketing messages.
- KYC and first instalment. Share a UPI payment link for the first instalment, or let the customer pay at the counter. Collect whatever KYC your CA advises for the scheme.
- Welcome message. Send the scheme summary: plan name, monthly amount, due date, number of instalments, maturity month and the store's contact details.
Separate consent for service messages and marketing messages is good practice: a customer who agreed to reminders did not automatically agree to festival offers, and treating the two the same is the fastest way to collect blocks and reports.
Monthly instalment reminders with UPI links and AutoPay
The monthly reminder is the heartbeat of the scheme. It goes out a few days before the due date, usually outside any open conversation window, so it must be an approved utility template.
Example reminder template: "Hi {{1}}, your instalment {{2}} of {{3}} for {{4}} is due on {{5}}. Tap below to pay by UPI." with a URL button whose dynamic suffix carries the customer's scheme ID. The button opens your payment gateway's UPI page, so the customer pays from any UPI app in a few taps.
For customers who prefer not to pay manually every month, set up a UPI AutoPay mandate through your payment gateway at enrolment. Under RBI's e-mandate framework, the customer receives a pre-debit notification at least 24 hours before each debit, and you can mirror it on WhatsApp so the customer sees one clear message from the store they recognise. Our guide to WhatsApp UPI AutoPay mandate reminders covers the mandate flow, failure handling and template wording in detail.
- Send at a sensible time. Mid-morning or early evening works better than late night.
- One reminder, one follow-up. A reminder three days before and one on the due date is usually enough.
- Keep it purely transactional. Do not add "also check our new bridal collection" to a reminder. Promotional content inside a utility template can lead Meta to recategorise it as marketing.
Instant receipts and passbook-style balance messages
The paper passbook is the part customers trust most, so the WhatsApp version has to be just as clear. When your payment gateway confirms an instalment, your system triggers a receipt template immediately.
Example receipt: "Received ₹5,000 for instalment 4 of 11, Gold Scheme GS-2041. Total paid: ₹20,000. Remaining: 7 instalments. Maturity: August 2027. Thank you, {{store name}}." For weight-based plans, add the gold rate used, grams credited this month and total grams to date.
A passbook-style balance message is a running statement sent after every instalment that shows instalments paid, amount paid, amount or grams accumulated, bonus status and maturity date. Customers can also type "Balance" any time; the chatbot looks up their record through a Webhook node and replies within seconds. Because the customer messaged first, that reply is a free service message from Meta.
Two details make receipts reliable. First, issue them only on the gateway's server-side confirmation, never on a customer's payment screenshot. Second, attach a PDF receipt with your GSTIN and store address when your accountant needs a formal document trail, and keep the WhatsApp text as the quick-glance version.
Missed instalments, grace period and maturity alerts
Missed months are normal, and how you handle them decides whether the customer finishes the scheme or quietly drops out. Define your grace period in the scheme terms first, then automate it.
- Day 1 after due date: a polite utility nudge: "Your instalment 6 was due yesterday. You can still pay within your grace period ending {{date}}." with the UPI button.
- Mid-grace period: one more nudge, plus a "Talk to us" button that hands the chat to a staff member in the shared inbox.
- Grace period over: a clear status message explaining what the scheme terms say happens next (for example, a shifted maturity date). Then stop automated nudges and let a human call.
For overdue handling patterns beyond schemes, such as repair job balances or credit sales, see our playbook on WhatsApp payment reminders for overdue invoices.
Maturity is the moment the jeweller actually earns the sale, so treat it as an event. Send a maturity alert 30 days before the final instalment and again when it is paid: "Your Gold Scheme GS-2041 matures on 15 August. Your redemption value is ₹60,000 including the bonus. Book a time to choose your jewellery." Add a button that opens a slot list (date, time, branch) so the customer books a redemption appointment in the chat. A reminder on the morning of the visit, plus a note that your hallmarked pieces carry a HUID, gives the customer confidence before they walk in. Our guide to WhatsApp hallmarking and HUID messages for jewellers shows how to share HUID details after purchase.
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Gold rate broadcasts and festival upsell
Scheme members are your warmest audience. They visit monthly, they trust the store, and they are already planning a purchase. Two kinds of marketing messages work well, but only for customers who opted in to offers.
Today's gold rate. A short morning broadcast with the 22K and 24K rate per gram, and for weight-based scheme members, today's value of their accumulated grams. Keep the frequency modest; a daily rate message to everyone quickly turns into noise. Our guide to the WhatsApp gold rate broadcast for jewellers covers timing, segmentation and template wording.
Festival campaigns. Akshaya Tritiya and Dhanteras are the two biggest gold-buying days in the Indian calendar, and wedding season follows close behind. Useful campaigns for scheme members include:
- An Akshaya Tritiya message inviting customers who are close to maturity to pre-book a redemption slot on the festival day.
- A Dhanteras message offering a new scheme enrolment to customers who just redeemed, so the cycle restarts.
- A wedding-season message to members with large maturity values, inviting them for a private viewing.
Example: a store with 800 active scheme members sends one Dhanteras campaign to the 600 who opted in to offers. On SaaS Pay that costs 600 × ₹1.50 = ₹900. If even three members enrol in a new scheme, the campaign has paid for itself many times over.
Utility vs marketing templates: which category for which message
Template category decides both the price and whether Meta approves the template. Utility templates confirm or update something the customer has already agreed to; marketing templates promote, invite or upsell. Getting this split right is the single biggest lever on your scheme's WhatsApp cost.
| Message | Category | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Enrolment replies after customer scans QR | Service reply (no template) | Customer opened the 24-hour window; free from Meta |
| Welcome and scheme summary | Utility | Confirms an enrolment the customer requested |
| Monthly instalment reminder | Utility | Payment due on an existing agreement |
| Receipt and passbook balance | Utility | Confirms a completed transaction |
| Missed-instalment nudge | Utility | Account status update, no promotion |
| Maturity alert and redemption booking | Utility | Status of the customer's own scheme |
| Daily gold rate broadcast | Marketing | General information meant to drive purchases |
| Akshaya Tritiya / Dhanteras offers, new scheme invite | Marketing | Promotional; send only to opted-in customers |
Since July 2025, Meta charges per delivered template message, and utility templates delivered while a customer service window is already open are free. In practice, if a customer replies "Paid" or taps a button on the reminder, the receipt that follows inside the window costs nothing from Meta.
What it costs: per customer per year
RichAutomate pay-as-you-go has ₹0 setup and ₹0 monthly fee. You choose one of two billing modes: Client Pay, where Meta bills your own Meta account at its published rate and RichAutomate adds a ₹0.10 platform fee per message; or SaaS Pay, an all-in rate of ₹0.50 per utility message and ₹1.50 per marketing message with no Meta account to manage.
Example: one customer on an 11+1 scheme receives 11 reminders, 11 receipts, 2 missed-instalment nudges and 2 maturity alerts (26 utility messages), plus 6 festival and gold-rate campaigns in the year (6 marketing messages). Enrolment replies are free service messages because the customer started the chat.
| Item (per customer per year) | Client Pay | SaaS Pay |
|---|---|---|
| Setup / monthly (pay-as-you-go) | ₹0 / ₹0 | ₹0 / ₹0 |
| 26 utility messages | Meta's India utility rate + 26 × ₹0.10 = ₹2.60 platform fee | 26 × ₹0.50 = ₹13.00 |
| 6 marketing messages | Meta's India marketing rate + 6 × ₹0.10 = ₹0.60 platform fee | 6 × ₹1.50 = ₹9.00 |
| Enrolment and "Balance" replies | ₹0 Meta + ₹0.10 each | Not counted in this example |
| Approximate total | ₹3.20 platform fee + Meta's charges | About ₹22 all-in |
Example: at SaaS Pay rates, a 500-member scheme costs about ₹11,000 a year in WhatsApp messages, or roughly ₹917 a month, which is usually less than the staff time spent on reminder calls and paper passbooks. Client Pay is cheaper per message if you are comfortable adding a payment method to your own Meta account. Teams that want more seats, automation and branding can move to Starter (₹499/mo), Pro (₹899/mo) or White-label (₹1,199/mo); see the full breakdown on our WhatsApp API pricing page.
Compliance: check the scheme structure with your CA
Gold savings schemes collect money from the public in advance, so the legal structure matters as much as the messaging. RichAutomate does not give legal advice; consult your CA or legal adviser before launching or scaling a scheme. Points to discuss with them include:
- Deposit rules under the Companies Act, 2013. If your business is a company, ask how the Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Rules apply to your scheme's tenure and terms.
- Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act, 2019. Ask whether your scheme structure could fall within its scope and what keeps it outside.
- Entity type. Proprietorships, partnerships, LLPs and companies may be treated differently. Confirm which rules apply to yours.
- GST and accounting treatment. How instalments, bonuses and redemptions are recorded and taxed.
- Written terms. Tenure, bonus, grace period, what happens on early exit or missed months. Send these terms in the welcome message so every customer has them in writing.
On the WhatsApp side, the rules are simpler but still strict. Collect opt-in, honour "STOP" immediately, keep utility templates free of promotions, and avoid unsolicited bulk sends. Low-quality messaging lowers your number's quality rating and messaging limits, and no provider can guarantee that a number will never be restricted. GST registration is required to go live on the WhatsApp Business API with RichAutomate, which most jewellers already have.
Launch your WhatsApp gold savings scheme
A practical rollout takes about a week. Connect your WhatsApp Business API number, submit four utility templates (welcome, reminder, receipt, maturity alert) and one marketing template, build the enrolment flow with list and button nodes, and connect your scheme ledger or billing software through the Webhook node and REST API. Print the counter QR, train staff to point customers to it, and migrate existing members by sending them a one-time opt-in message from the counter.
Start your RichAutomate free trial with 14 days and 100 credits, ₹0 setup and ₹0 monthly on pay-as-you-go, and send your first scheme reminder and receipt today.