Madhvi Sonia - Community Author: Finextra Research

UK’s Leeds Reforms set stage for global fintech leadership by 2035

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

UK’s Leeds Reforms set stage for global fintech leadership by 2035

Last week UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveiled the first-ever Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness sector plan and her aim to make the UK “the number one destination for financial services businesses by 2035, attracting inward investment and creating good skilled jobs across the UK.” Fueling fintech innovation, talent and scale-up support...

21 July 2025 /markets

What Australia’s Confirmation of Payee means for the future of fraud prevention

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

What Australia’s Confirmation of Payee means for the future of fraud prevention

July 2025 saw Australian banks unveil their version of scam fighting technology Confirmation of Payee, allowing names to be matched to accounts and preventing customers from being tricked into sending funds to fraudsters. Forming part of the Scam-Safe Accord – a joint initiative of the Australian Banking Association (ABA) and the Customer Owned Ba...

17 July 2025 /crime

The LGBTQ wealth gap: What financial services must do next

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

The LGBTQ wealth gap: What financial services must do next

April 2025 numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that the median weekly wage of a typical employee in the United States is $1,001. The Human Rights Campaign analysed this data and found that on average, for LGBTQ+ workers, earnings were around $900 a week. This wage gap equates to LGBTQ+ employees earning 90 cents on the do...

16 June 2025 /retail

Beyond the binary: Fixing KYC for the LGBTQ+ economy

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

Beyond the binary: Fixing KYC for the LGBTQ+ economy

This Finextra long read series will focus on how the fintech industry can serve underrepresented LGBTQ+ customers during and after Pride Month – a celebration of the LGBTQ+ community and the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer culture. By recognising that many individuals within the LGBTQ+ community, particul...

09 June 2025 /identity

How do we regulate a future not yet written?

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

How do we regulate a future not yet written?

This is an excerpt from The Future of European Fintech 2025: A Money20/20 Special Edition. According to the European Fintech Association, the fintech industry has attracted the largest share of all VC funding over the last five years, worth around $85 billion. This showcases the strong potential of fintech in Europe, and how the sector will be a d...

06 June 2025 /regulation

How fintech firms can champion real LGBTQ+ inclusion

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

How fintech firms can champion real LGBTQ+ inclusion

This Finextra long read series will focus on moving beyond performative allyship to explore structural inclusion during and after Pride Month - a celebration of the LGBTQ+ community and commemoration of the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer culture. By adopting inclusive policies, promoting visible role models, and...

02 June 2025 /inclusion

What Shackleton’s strategic expansion means for UK wealth management

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

What Shackleton’s strategic expansion means for UK wealth management

As reported by Financial News this week, a document seen by the publication revealed that Shackleton explored a takeover deal that could have tripled the amount of money it manages. The wealth manager, that oversees a portfolio of £5.5 billion, had discussions with a larger rival that managed £10 billion at the time and a smaller firm with £2 bil...

19 May 2025 /wealth

Confronting cyber-fraud and risk strategies in US payments

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

Confronting cyber-fraud and risk strategies in US payments

This is an excerpt from The Future of US Digital Payments 2025: ACH & Beyond. Kinexys by J.P. Morgan’s Gloria Wan referenced the Trustpair US Fraud Survey Report in conversation with Finextra, and mentioned that 90% of US companies experienced cyber fraud in 2024. Nearly half (47%) of US companies also suffered a loss of over $10 million. Wan ...

12 May 2025 /payments

How will new regulation impact US payments innovation?

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

How will new regulation impact US payments innovation?

This is an excerpt from The Future of US Digital Payments 2025: ACH & Beyond. While rules and regulations are the bedrock of financial services and payments, organisations across the US digital payments landscape must prioritise innovation, transaction quality, opportunity and financial reward at the same time as compliance in order to remain ...

08 May 2025 /regulation

What new technologies are redefining US payments?

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

What new technologies are redefining US payments?

This is an excerpt from The Future of US Digital Payments 2025: ACH & Beyond. New technologies are transforming the way transactions are initiated, processed, and settled and at the same time, challenging what the US knows of their payment infrastructure today. Real-time processing is now converging with programmability, cryptographic security...

06 May 2025 /payments

How RTP and FedNow are evolving faster payments through interoperability and innovation

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

How RTP and FedNow are evolving faster payments through interoperability and innovation

This is an excerpt from The Future of US Digital Payments 2025: ACH & Beyond. What RTP and FedNow have achieved mark significant inflection points in US payments infrastructure. By engineering instant movement of money, they have allowed a new range of financial products, embedded experiences, and business models to emerge. As adoption of fast...

02 May 2025 /payments

Global fraud challenges and strategies to combat them

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

Global fraud challenges and strategies to combat them

Nacha event Smarter Faster Payments in New Orleans set aside an hour to discuss the importance of collaboration among financial institutions and regulators, the role of data sharing in improving fraud detection, and the need for robust fraud controls. This global panel highlighted South Africa’s fraud journey, that has focused on prevention, detec...

01 May 2025 /crime

Long reads