Some of the world’s biggest banks are testing new technology that would help them record and monitor employees’ texts sent via the popular messaging app WhatsApp, Financial News can reveal.

The lenders have in recent weeks begun testing the tech, which would help them record WhatsApp messages exchanged between employees and clients, amid a massive spike in use of the encrypted messaging app during the coronavirus pandemic. It comes as thousands of finance workers have been forced to rely more on their personal devices in their home-working setups, as offices around the world have been shut down due to the Covid-19 outbreak, which has killed more than 300,000 so far.