Madhvi Sonia - Community Author: Finextra Research

What is CASS 15, the new FCA safeguarding framework for UK payment and e-money firms?

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

What is CASS 15, the new FCA safeguarding framework for UK payment and e-money firms?

Coming in to force on 7 May 2026, a new regime – CASS 15 – enacted by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) aims to strengthen weaknesses in payment and e-money firms, protect customers when those organisations fail, and mark a shift from resilient to proactive financial regulation. Here’s all you need to know about CASS 15. Why CASS 15 matte...

19 hours /regulation

Pig butchering, bitcoin, and the biggest crypto seizure in DoJ history: What it means for fintech

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

Pig butchering, bitcoin, and the biggest crypto seizure in DoJ history: What it means for fintech

Last week, the Department of Justice filed the largest ever forfeiture action against $15 billion in bitcoin currently in US custody. A DoJ press release revealed that an indictment was unsealed in federal court that charged Cambodian national Chen Zhi, founder and chairman of Prince Holding Group, with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering...

20 October 2025 /crime

The rise of Erebor: What SVB’s fall sparked in venture finance

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

The rise of Erebor: What SVB’s fall sparked in venture finance

Erebor - a new bank with ties to President Donald Trump’s administration and backed by Peter Thiel’s venture firm Founders Fund - has been approved to launch by the OCC. Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan V. Gould highlighted today that this is “also proof that the OCC under my leadership does not impose blanket barriers to banks that want to en...

16 October 2025 /wealth

Europe’s Instant Payments Regulation and the 9 October deadline, explained

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

Europe’s Instant Payments Regulation and the 9 October deadline, explained

Adopted by the European Parliament and the European Council in March 2024, the Instant Payments Regulation (IPR) was set in motion to speed up the roll-out of instant payments in Europe and cover credit transfers denominated in euro within the EU. This regulation also amends the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) regulation, adds specific provisions...

10 October 2025 /regulation

Stablecoin summer: The summer financial services turned crypto-curious

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

Stablecoin summer: The summer financial services turned crypto-curious

The summer of 2025 may be remembered as the moment stablecoins moved from speculative sidelines to the centre of financial innovation. Despite the term ‘stablecoin’ first appearing in 2013, and early launches like BitUSD and Tether following soon after, this season marked the closest the industry has come to creating a truly less volatile cryptocu...

09 September 2025 /crypto

Are you a HENRY (High Earner, Not Rich Yet)?

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

Are you a HENRY (High Earner, Not Rich Yet)?

As reported in Moneywise, HENRYs are a “surprisingly large class of Americans who pull in big bucks but still feel financially strapped.” Despite earning over $100,000 annually, because these individuals do not have substantial wealth, assets or the investment knowledge to make a change in this era of inflation and high cost of living, they remai...

28 August 2025 /wealth

Why are orchestration tools essential within today’s payments arena?

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

Why are orchestration tools essential within today’s payments arena?

Be it small e-commerce firms, sprawling corporations, or financial institutions within open finance contexts, organisations of all stripes must at some point face the challenge of uniting innumerable payment service providers (PSPs) within a secure and seamless payments ecosystem. The most effective way to do this is by deploying orchestration too...

26 August 2025 /payments

What SoftBank’s PayPay IPO float means for embedded finance in Japan

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

What SoftBank’s PayPay IPO float means for embedded finance in Japan

Last week Reuters reported that SoftBank has picked investment banks Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Mizuho and Morgan Stanley to support a potential US IPO for its Japanese payments app operator, PayPay. In what could be as early as Q4’25, PayPay could raise over $2 billion from investors, but timing and the amount are subject to market conditio...

11 August 2025 /payments

Would you trust a machine with your money?

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

Would you trust a machine with your money?

Deciding how to manage finances can be a significant step. In a world where algorithms manage portfolios, rebalance assets, and offer retirement advice, a question remains: do people trust robo-advisors? And if they do, why? The psychology of trust in robo-advisors Polaris Market Research expects the global robo advisory market to reach $72 bill...

05 August 2025 /wealth

World Day Against Trafficking in Persons: Can AI and quantum computing turn the tide?

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

World Day Against Trafficking in Persons: Can AI and quantum computing turn the tide?

Marked on 30 July, International Human Trafficking Day, otherwise known as World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, was established in response to a request for the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to host a meeting to counter the buying and selling of fellow humans in 2006. Fast forward to 2015, the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda...

30 July 2025 /crime

How AI is reshaping portfolio construction

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

How AI is reshaping portfolio construction

Portfolio construction has long been a careful balancing act between risk, return, and investor psychology. Traditionally, it has been siloed, relying on historical data, human judgment, and static models. Classic portfolio construction follows a linear path: where risk tolerance and investment goals are assessed first, assets across predefined ca...

24 July 2025 /wealth

11 ways fintech can help postpone Earth Overshoot Day

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

11 ways fintech can help postpone Earth Overshoot Day

In 2025, Earth Overshoot Day is yet again being marked too early on 24th July. According to the Global Footprint Network, this date is “when humanity’s demand on nature surpasses Earth’s capacity to replenish nature during the entire year.” In 2024, this day fell on 1st August, meaning that humanity is persistently overusing the planet’s resources...

24 July 2025 /sustainable

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