Madhvi Sonia - Community Author: Finextra Research

Tornado Cash: The end of sanctions, a decentralised future, and financial privacy

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

Tornado Cash: The end of sanctions, a decentralised future, and financial privacy

In a monumental shift in regulatory policy, the US government has reversed its decision to sanction Tornado Cash, the decentralised cryptocurrency mixer that has been a subject of intense debate since 2022. As reported by CoinDesk, Tornado Cash has been “accused of helping North Korea’s Lazarus Group launder stolen funds from its various hacks a...

24 March 2025 /crypto

Quantum computing will reach its inflection point in 2029: How investors should prepare

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

Quantum computing will reach its inflection point in 2029: How investors should prepare

In a recent discussion with Finextra, Anders Indset, a business author and investor based in Frankfurt, Germany, shares his insights on the future of quantum computing and its potential to revolutionise industries. He discusses the evolution of the quantum economy, highlighted the rapid advancements in quantum technology, and shares his thoughts o...

12 March 2025 /devops

Germany elections: What Friedrich Merz’s win means for fintech

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

Germany elections: What Friedrich Merz’s win means for fintech

Friedrich Merz’s fiscally conservative Christian Democratic Party (CDU/CSU) won Germany’s national election this month, citing promises of uniting Europe amid challenges from Russia and the US, as well as a coalition with the centre-left Social Democrats to stabilise economic issues. A coalition with right-wing party AfD would also be possible, bu...

24 February 2025 /markets

Microsoft's Majorana 1 quantum computing chip: Explained

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

Microsoft's Majorana 1 quantum computing chip: Explained

17 years of research has led to Microsoft creating a new material and architecture for quantum computing. Majorana 1, the first Quantum Processing Unit (QPU), is powered by a hardware-protected topological qubit, and could have a substantial impact on the financial services and fintech industries. Here's how. What is quantum computing? Quantum com...

20 February 2025 /devops

Trade-based financial crime: Criminal activity, complex supply chains, and coverage

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

Trade-based financial crime: Criminal activity, complex supply chains, and coverage

The Canadian Department of Finance revealed in November 2024 that they would be requesting changes to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorism Financing Act (PCMLTFA) so that it could “continuously monitor and adapt to new risks and threats”. Similar initiatives are being implemented in a number of countries as regulators realise the...

19 February 2025 /crime

Super Bowl 2025: Fintech firms that took centre stage with multi-million dollar ads

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

Super Bowl 2025: Fintech firms that took centre stage with multi-million dollar ads

Fintech firms have increasingly used the Super Bowl to elevate their brands, and this year was no different. The 2024 edition saw fintech companies spending $7 million for a mere 30 seconds of airtime, and this year, that figure rose to $8 million per ad for Super Bowl LIX, in which the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 in ...

10 February 2025 /retail

What the US real time payment transaction limit increase to $10m means

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

What the US real time payment transaction limit increase to $10m means

On 9 February 2025, operator of the largest instant payment system in the US, The Clearing House, will raise the individual transaction limit to $10 million. This week, it was also revealed that the RTP network surpassed one billion payments, just 18 months after crossing the 500 million transaction mark. After a gradual uptake – taking over five ...

06 February 2025 /payments

DeepSeek: What can this open-source AI leader do for fintech?

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

DeepSeek: What can this open-source AI leader do for fintech?

Chinese LLM developer DeepSeek has the potential to forge more efficient, secure and personalised financial services at a fraction of their current costs. Reuters reported this week that while Europe has struggled to keep pace with the US in regards to AI, a low-cost LLM alternative could help democratise this technology. Bernstein analysts have e...

03 February 2025 /ai

Open banking year seven: Beyond the Data (Use and Access) Bill and National Payment Vision

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

Open banking year seven: Beyond the Data (Use and Access) Bill and National Payment Vision

13 January marks the seventh anniversary of PSD2 and the creation of open banking in the UK in conjunction with an order implemented by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in 2018. According to Open Banking Limited (OBL), there are now over: 11.7 million active users of open banking-enabled products in the UK, 1.7 billion API calls made p...

13 January 2025 /payments

Instant Payments Regulation: What the 9 January 2025 IPR deadline means

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

Instant Payments Regulation: What the 9 January 2025 IPR deadline means

Acronyms galore: those in the financial services industry must fully understand the ins and outs of the European Union’s (EU) Instant Payments Regulation (IPR) – that intends to ensure real-time payments are standardised in the Single European Payments Area (SEPA) – to bolster the digital economy and serve the evolving needs of consumers and busin...

09 January 2025 /payments

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

Top 25 fintech investments of 2024

A Silicon Valley Bank report released at the end of 2024 revealed that venture capital investment in US fintech remains muted, hovering near a six-year low for the sector. Deal flow has shifted toward the early stage, with more than three seed investments for every one Series A. In 2021, fintech deals over $100 million accounted for 65% of activi...

31 December 2024 /startups

US AI regulation state by state: Impact and strategies for financial services

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

US AI regulation state by state: Impact and strategies for financial services

AI has been a transformative force across various industries, with financial services being one of the early adopters. The integration of AI in financial services has evolved significantly over the past few decades, from basic algorithmic trading and fraud detection to more sophisticated applications like generative AI. The rise of tools such as C...

18 December 2024 /ai

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