Payments Are Eating The World! This week on the #couch, we had the chance to speak with Daumantas Grigaravicius, the new Head of the Middle East Region at Adyen. We had an insightful conversation about the current trends in payments, both regionally and globally, and the transformative power of payment orchestration.

How Stable Are Stablecoins? In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, recorded live at the Singapore FinTech Festival in partnership with Founders Peak, we chat with Dante Disparte, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Policy at Circle. Dante shares how Circle is using digital assets like USDC (Stablecoin) and EURC to build a more inclusive financial system. Innovation is changing the way we think about global finance—tune in to learn more.

Kicking off a special series of Couchonomics with Arjun, recorded live at the Singapore FinTech Festival 2024 in collaboration with Founders Peak! In this first episode, we welcome Nate Clark, CEO of GoTyme Bank, to talk about the future of digital banking in the Philippines and beyond. We dive into the Filipino financial services sector, the rise of fintech, the impact of AI on banking, and so much more.

Couchonomics with Arjun is beaming its inaugural episode from its new home in KSA, at Jeel, Riyadh Banks Innovation Center in the heart of Riyadh. Our guest for this week’s special episode is Maher Loubieh, Co-Founder & CEO of Hala. During this episode, Maher shares Hala’s incredible journey from its beginnings as a peer-to-peer payment platform to then pivoting their business model to focus on the MSME sector in Saudi Arabia. We discuss Hala's strategic pivots, the trials and tribulations of evolving one's business model, the challenges of serving small businesses, and their vision for building a robust financial ecosystem tailored to MSMEs' unique needs.

This week on Couchonomics, Arjun sits down with Walter De Oude, the visionary Founder & CEO of Chocolate Finance—a high-yield cash management platform designed to bring better returns on idle cash. Joining from Singapore, Walter shares his inspiring journey from launching SingLife to creating Chocolate Finance, along with his vision for empowering “lazy savers” with higher returns.

Exciting plans for Season 4 are already in motion, and in this 100th-episode special, Arjun takes a turn on the other side of the #couch! Hosting this special edition is Vuk Zlatarov, Co-founder and CEO of Poddster, who delves into Arjun’s journey behind the scenes. Vuk leads Arjun through a candid discussion about the journey of building the show, from its early days to becoming a space for the region's most insightful conversations. They explore the challenges, standout moments, and the future direction of the show as it continues to grow.

We continue celebrating the 100th episode of Couchonomics with Arjun! For this milestone episode, we’re happy to welcome back Roelant Prins, Chief Commercial Officer at Adyen. Roelant and Arjun had an interesting conversation at the end of Season 1, where we filmed a special episode in Amsterdam. Today, Roelant joins us remotely to discuss the evolving payments landscape and explore the critical shifts happening in both Europe and the Middle East. Catch this insightful conversation with Roelant as we celebrate 100 episodes of learning innovation, and community!

We’re celebrating the 100th episode with the return of Ramana Kumar, CEO of Magnati! Ramana first joined us in Season 1, and now he’s back to share how Magnati has evolved into a leading cloud-based payments company. In this special episode, we explore the shift to tech-driven payments, the rise of embedded finance, cross-border payment challenges in the MENA region, the role of CBDCs, and the potential of stablecoins in transaction banking. Plus, how Magnati is navigating the regulatory landscape across the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Celebrating the 100th episode of Couchonomics With Arjun with a special guest, Mr. FinTech himself, Sopnendu Mohanty, Chairman of the Board at Elevandi and Chief FinTech Officer at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). In our humble opinion, he's been the chief catalyst in turning Singapore into a FinTech powerhouse.

In this part of our 100th-episode special, Sopnendu and Arjun explore significant shifts in the FinTech landscape, including the evolution of digital assets and CBDCs, the impact of AI, and Singapore’s initiatives for a seamless digital finance ecosystem and cross-border payments. They also discuss Singapore’s role in the FinTech ecosystem and the upcoming 9th edition of the Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF), which has become one of the most influential FinTech events globally.

The Art of Transitioning from Legacy to Modern Technology!

Join us on Couchonomics with Arjun as we sit down with Vikram Suri, Managing Director for the Middle East and Turkey region at FIS. I

We discuss the ever-evolving world of fintech and payments, covering topics such as Payment Trends and Financial Inclusion, Banks and Payment Infrastructure, Biometrics and Contactless Payments, and FIS’s Approach to Security.

Don't miss this insightful conversation on the future of fintech and payments.

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!

Innovation in banking is about more than just adopting new technology—it's about challenging traditional perceptions and rethinking everything from customer service to risk management to create more flexible, responsive, and personalized financial services. In this episode, I sit down with Karan Jain, founder and CEO of Naya One, to discuss how his company is revolutionizing the banking world.

We dive into topics such as challenges in financial innovation, the role of Naya One, the evolution of banking innovation, FinTech and bank relationships, and the VC and CVC landscape. Tune in to learn how Naya One is transforming financial innovation and what the future holds for fintech collaborations. Watch now and stay ahead in the world of banking and fintech!

In this episode, we have the privilege of hosting Ashraf Sabry, the visionary Founder and CEO of Fawry. Ashraf has transformed Fawry into a trailblazing fintech and one of the most successful startups in Africa.

We covered a range of topics, including innovation in payments,the development of startups in Egypt, Fawry’s diversification strategy, and Ashraf’s personal philosophy and expansion plans for Fawry. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain valuable insights from one of Africa's preeminent fintech leaders.

We are talking about Digital Assets, DeFI and Crypto on Couchonomics with Arjun this week.

Joining us on the couch is Nick Philpott, Co-Founder and Head of Partnerships at Zodia Markets by Standard Chartered & OSL. We had a very interesting conversation around #bitcoinhalving, #stablecoins, virtual-assets regulations, and tokenization of real-world assets, among other topics. Nick gave us insights into Zodia Markets' role as an OTC crypto brokerage serving institutional clients and their partnership with Standard Chartered.

In this episode of Couchonomics, we tackle the burning question: "Bitcoin in 2024: Boom or Bust?" Join us as we engage in a fascinating conversation with Stefan Kimmel, the CEO of M2, a crypto exchange, and investment platform regulated by the FSRA in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).

We dive deep into the world of cryptocurrency, exploring the intricate dynamics of Bitcoin, DeFi, and digital assets. Throughout our chat, we touch upon various topics, including market dynamics, product innovation, and future trends in the crypto space.