WhatsApp users in Brazil can quickly, conveniently, and securely transfer money directly on the app

Starting today, Mastercard cardholders in Brazil can send and receive money to and from friends and family through WhatsApp. Mastercard debit cardholders with cards issued by Banco Inter, Itaú, Nubank and Sicredi will be able to use the innovative P2P WhatsApp service. The payments service on WhatsApp is enabled by Facebook Pay and processed by Facebook Pagamentos and Cielo.

The Canadian fintech surpassed the 2 million user mark in its home country, up from around 1.5 million when it last reported the figure in October. Wealthsimple unveiled the user updates alongside a CAD$750 million ($559.2 million) funding round on Monday, which values it at CAD$5 billion ($3.73 billion)—more than triple the CAD$1.5 billion ($1.12 billion) valuation it reached after its previous round in October.

Leading mortgage technology provider Twenty7Tec today announces that Halifax Intermediaries has been added to its APPLY module, and following a successful trial, is now available to all users of the CloudTwenty7 platform to enable them to submit decision in principle applications to Halifax without the need for re-keying.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released two reports today showing that more work needs to be done to help mortgage borrowers coping with the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn. The first report documents that Black and Hispanic mortgage borrowers are much more likely to be delinquent or in a forbearance program than white borrowers. In a second report, the CFPB reports that overall mortgage complaints to the CFPB have risen to their highest level in three years.  

Refinitiv today announced a new strategic agreement with FinTech Studios, an AI-based news, market intelligence and analytics provider, to provide industry, local and regional news, and research to wealth management professionals across Latin America and beyond.

Kubernetes, supported by a vibrant open source community, can drive outstanding innovation. To help in Kubernetes adoption, Red Hat and IBM Research have created Konveyor, an open source project aimed at helping modernize and migrate applications for open hybrid cloud by building tools, identifying patterns and providing advice on how to bring cloud-native transformation across IT. Konveyor also supports a growing number of tools, such as Crane, Forklift, Move2Kube, Tackle, and Pelorus, designed to accelerate Kubernetes adoption. 

Today, Curve and Cardlytics announce a new partnership to launch Curve Rewards, a new programme available for customers in-app. The partnership will connect Curve’s 1million+ UK customers with Cardlytics’ growing roster of over 100 recognised high street brands, including Pret a Manger, JustEat, FatFace, Harvey Nichols and Cult Beauty, offering an extensive range of rewards.

Wolters Kluwer’s Finance, Risk & Regulatory Reporting (FRR) business has appointed Donna-Maree Vinci as a strategic advisor for Australia. Wolters Kluwer FRR counts major Australian financial institutions, as well as international banking groups active in the country, among its clients.  The multi award-winning company is now scaling up operations in the country, helping banks to navigate the complexities of regulatory compliance obligations. 

Riverbed today announced the availability of new capabilities that dramatically improve the visibility and performance of SSL/TLS-encrypted applications, enabling organizations to expand Work-from-Anywhere, SaaS and Cloud initiatives with confidence.

A record number of venture capital (VC) partners and firms within the European market were valued at over €1bn in 2020, reaching unicorn status, investment monitoring platform Pitchbook has reported.

The news follows a decade of sustained growth, and multi-billion valuations flooding the European VC market in 2020, despite economic and social disruption by COVID-19.