Can an Islamic community bank boom be driven by ‘ethical consumerism’?

In this episode, we’re joined by Christoph Koster, CEO of Ruya Bank, a digital-first Islamic community bank in the UAE. Ruya Bank is dedicated to bringing ethical Islamic banking practices to all communities in the UAE, supporting SMEs, startups, and low-income groups. Christoph and Arjun explore Islamic finance and banking, the potential for growth and collaboration in Islamic fintech, Ruya’s adoption of new technologies, and more.

Tune in to gain a deeper understanding of community banks, Islamic banking, and Ruya’s efforts to reshape banking in the UAE with its ethical approach.

Welcome to a new episode of Couchonomics with Arjun! This week, we're diving into Banking as a Service (BaaS) with Kelvin Tan, CEO of Audax.

Kelvin shares insights on Audax’s “bank in a box” solution, helping banks scale and modernize rapidly. We discuss the potential and challenges of BaaS, open banking, and the future of embedded finance. Don't miss this insightful conversation on digital banking!

In this episode of Couchonomics, we welcome Wael Fakharany, CEO of Edenred Middle East, a leading provider of smart technology solutions in the UAE. Wael shares his expertise in empowering businesses across various sectors, including retail, facilities management, and construction, through technology-driven financial solutions.

In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, Oliver Hughes, former CEO of Tinkoff, discussed the future of digital banking and how it is changing the financial industry. Hughes shared his thoughts on the challenges that traditional banks face in building ecosystems, the importance of unit economics in digital banking, and the future of traditional branch-based banking.