Recent Episodes
Digital Innovation Drives Transformation in Banking Worldwide
In the latest episode of Couchonomics, Dr van Linder, CEO of Commercial Bank of Dubai, shares his view on the future of the financial eco-system and predicts an explosion of banks applying digital innovation across all levels. Dr Van Linder is excited to drive innovation and change in the region by expanding how banks view their competition.
Surviving as a Fintech In The Current Market
Madhusudanan Rangarajan and Prabhu Rangarajan are the Co-founders of M2P, an innovative, India-born fintech company with ambitious expansion goals for Dubai. They reveal what sets them apart from other fintech companies and offer valuable insights into which fintech companies have what it takes to make it through this difficult time.
How Facial Recognition will Sculpt the Future of Finance
Mihai Draghici brings the exciting story of how the idea for his innovative FinTech company, PayByFace, came about. Hear him explain his vision to gamify payments and turn them into a fun, enjoyable experience.
P2P Payments Solutions - And Why This One Actually Works
In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, the conversation about the possibilities of P2P payments awaits you. The guests are Andrew Gold and Faisal Toukan, two-thirds of a trio that started Ziina, the UAE’s first peer-to-peer payment app.
Building Wealth-Tech in MENA
Many would say that investing is like gambling. But is it? Feras Jalbout, Founder and CEO of Baraka, built a commission-free investment platform to empower the next generation of Middle East investors.
The Future of Fintech
Abdullah Al-Othman joins Couchonomics to share his views on an ever-evolving fintech landscape. He shares his view on what makes fintech in Saudi Arabia unique from other places in the world.
Exploring Egypt’s Fintech Expansion
Egypt is emerging as one of the most exciting regions on the fintech map. Walid Hassouna, Founder and CEO of ValU, breaks down some of the key factors driving Egypt’s recent fintech growth.
Unlocking New Revenue Streams with NFTs
The rising star of the Middle Easter NFT art world Kristel Bechara takes us through key criteria for evaluating long-term NFT value and explains how NFTs can transform ownership.
The Future of corporate spending
Mo Aziz, Co-Founder of Pluto, took a deep dive into the future of corporate spending and how the customer and competitive landscape will evolve in the region.
FinTech in MENA: A macro perspective
Nameer Khan is the Chairman of the MENA Fintech Association. Drawing on the support of an impressive panel of local and global partners, the Association has quickly proven itself as an integral force in the vitalization of the fintech world.
How to teach teenagers about money?
In today’s modern world where physical currency is slowly being phased out by online purchases and even cryptocurrencies, how do you communicate the value of money to a teenager?
Invest in the Future
Although investing seemed to be showing signs of recovery, recent trends have seen investment into some sectors take a nose-dive. Tammer Qaddumi, founding partner of VentureSouq, shares how investment companies can not only survive, but thrive.
Disruption in the insurance industry
To discuss the need for disruption in the insurance sector, we have invited Ambareen Musa, Souqalmal.com Founder and CEO. She underlined the disruption that is about to happen in insurance and InsureTech and the need for government regulations that must be implemented for these changes to happen.
Introducing Innovation to InsurTech
Insurance, bogged down by hundreds of years of tradition and legacy, is one of those neglected and forgotten segments in the fintech disruption. But Tanja Magas, Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Democrance, believes otherwise.
The Future of digital payments
Together with Kartik Taneja from Mashreq Bank, we're covering different digital payment solutions and trying to figure out what the future holds for each one of them.
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Pakistan, a nation with over 50 million active bank accounts, has been relatively slow to conform to the trend, with only 500 thousand credit cards nationwide. Omar Ansari, the founder of ABHI, takes this surprising statistic as a sign of great opportunity in the region.
Is Buy Now, Pay Later here to stay?
To dig deeper into the BNPL market and regulations of the BNPL ecosystem, we invited Ibtissam Ouassif, Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer at Cashew Payments.
Is the “Fintech Party” over?
What is the current state of digital payments and e-commerce market and what role Crypto has in the future of finance? Find out from Dr. Saeeda Jaffar, Senior Vice President & Group Country Manager – GCC, Visa.
Don't build a bank, build a platform
Zand, the first digital bank to provide both retail and corporate banking is set for imminent launch in the UAE, subject to final regulatory approvals. Is Zand the way of future banking? Can traditional banks transform and catch up with fintech digital platforms that are emerging?