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PODCAST

Couchonomics with Arjun

Decoding the New World Order of Finance - Unfiltered, global, weeklyAs tectonic shifts reshape the financial world, Couchonomics continues to explore the trends transforming commerce, capital, and culture. This season, we expand our lens - building on our deep focus in the MENA region while bringing in voices, stories, and innovations from around the globe.Why? Because the future of finance is no longer regional - it’s interconnected.Whether it’s AI in Asia, tokenization in Europe, or fintech policy

business management

All Episodes

58:31

Stablecoins, Tokenization & Regulation: Crypto’s Next...

Couchonomics with Arjun ·

2025/07/22

Crypto isn’t dead, it’s going institutional. In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, Rifad Mahasneh, CEO of OKX MENA, joins the show to unpack what real digital asset adoption looks like beyond the headlines. We explore how OKX is building for scale, trust, and regulation - especially in the UAE, where crypto is becoming infrastructure, not just innovation. 🎯 What’s inside: • Post-FTX trust rebuild: custody, compliance & proof-of-reserves • Stablecoins, CBDCs &...

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61:50

Scaling SME Lending Without Burning Capital

Couchonomics with Arjun ·

2025/07/15

💸 What’s the real fintech miracle? Lending to SMEs — and staying alive 9 years later. In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, we’re joined by Nikhilesh Goel, Co-Founder & CEO of Validus, Southeast Asia’s largest SME financing platform. We unpack how Validus scaled to $5B+ in credit across the region by avoiding the hype and building disciplined, anchor-based lending models that actually work. 💡 Why SME lending is a graveyard for most fintechs 💡 Why 90% of Validus' capital come...

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49:12

Neo Ventures, Tokenized Assets & the Future of...

Couchonomics with Arjun ·

2025/07/08

AI isn’t a campaign. It’s a core banking reset. In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, we’re joined by Amith Rajan, CEO of Neo Ventures and Head of Digital Wholesale Banking at Mashreq, for a candid conversation on how AI, tokenization, and infrastructure transformation are reshaping the banking stack from the inside out. We unpack: - Why "rip and replace" is a myth and what real legacy evolution looks like -How Mashreq is deploying AI across KYC, onboarding, and customer insights -The...

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52:43

Fixing the Core: Why Legacy Banking Infrastructure...

Couchonomics with Arjun ·

2025/07/01

The core of banking is broken, and duct-taping legacy systems won’t fix it. This week on Couchonomics with Arjun, I’m joined by Myles Bertrand, CEO of Tuum, the modular core banking platform built in Estonia and now scaling across Europe and the GCC. Tuum isn’t selling digital lipstick. They’re rebuilding the real plumbing of modern banking — one composable, cloud-native layer at a time. 💡 In this episode: - Why full core replacement is a myth — and composability is the real unlock - How to

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56:57

What VCs Get Wrong About Building Durable Startups...

Couchonomics with Arjun ·

2025/06/24

In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, we sit down with Tim Levene, CEO of Augmentum Fintech, the UK’s only publicly listed fintech venture capital firm. From going public to backing infrastructure instead of hype, Tim shares what permanent capital allows that traditional VC structures don’t and why he believes the next decade of fintech will be won with discipline, not just disruption. What we cover: 🛋️ Why Augmentum chose public markets over LP cycles 🛋️ The real story behind

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45:20

Why Most Digital Banks Fail - And How Engine by...

Couchonomics with Arjun ·

2025/06/11

The next banking stack won’t just be fast — it has to be human. In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, Nick Drewett, Chief Commercial Officer at Engine by Starling, joins the conversation to share what it actually takes to launch and scale a digital bank — not in theory, but in practice. Engine is the tech spinout from Starling Bank - one of the world’s first profitable digital banks - and it’s now powering next-gen banking infrastructure globally. We cover: - How Salt Bank launched i...

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56:25

Beyond the Buzz: Beehive’s Real Playbook for SME Lending

Couchonomics with Arjun ·

2025/06/03

There’s a $260B SME financing gap in MENA, and most players are still offering copy-paste solutions. In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, Craig Moore, Founder and CEO of Beehive, shares how one of the region’s original fintechs is tackling real problems with real results. Since 2014, Beehive has built a lending model that combines technology, regulatory know-how, and operational depth to serve the segment banks continue to overlook. In this conversation, we explore: • What SME...

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0:51

Conviction Over Hype: What Great VCs Look Like Now

Couchonomics with Arjun ·

2025/05/27

The Venture Model Broke. But Startups Are Still Building. In this episode, Arjun is joined by Devin Kohli, General Partner at Outward VC, for a candid conversation on what’s next for venture capital. They unpack: - Shifting VC trends in Europe, MENA, and the USA - Outward’s bets on Curve, Vauban, Bud & more - AI hype vs. real vertical value - Tokenisation, digital assets & future financial infrastructure - Emerging tech hubs across Japan, MENA, Southeast Asia Plus, Devin shares what...

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50:36

Reinventing Banking: Tyme’s CEO on Scale, Strategy &...

Couchonomics with Arjun ·

2025/05/20

Phygital is the new digital. On Episode 2 of Couchonomics with Arjun Season 4, we sit down with Coenraad Jonker — Founder & Group CEO of Tyme — a digital banking pioneer who’s built real scale across emerging markets. Tyme raised $250M in Series C. Reached a $1.5B valuation. Signed up 17M+ customers across South Africa and the Philippines. All while keeping CAC at one of the lowest levels globally. This isn’t hype. This is hard-earned traction. We break down regulation, scale, AI-n...

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53:27

From Bank to Builder: How SC Ventures Launches 30+...

Couchonomics with Arjun ·

2025/05/13

Season 4 of Couchonomics with Arjun kicks off with a venture builder shaking up the system — Gautam Jain from SC Ventures by Standard Chartered. From launching digital banks in Asia to building full-stack ventures in the GCC, Gautam’s now part of a team transforming how venture-building happens inside a bank. In this episode: 🧠 Innovation culture & internal equity 🧱 Building in real, underserved sectors 💡 Regulator-respecting fintech 🇸🇦 Why the GCC is ripe for bo...

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1:03

Couchonomics with Arjun is BACK!

Couchonomics with Arjun ·

2025/05/05

We're officially back - bigger, bolder, more diverse, and more global than ever. In Season 4, we’re asking the real questions: - What’s next for AI, digital assets, open banking, and embedded finance? - How are regulations and disruptive technologies reshaping financial services? - Are we really keeping pace with the transformation? Over 100 episodes in — and the journey’s just getting started. Tune in and join the conversation as we decode the future of finan...

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22:31

Programmable Money, Real-Time Payments & What Comes Next

Couchonomics with Arjun ·

2025/05/02

Re-architecting Finance with Blockchain - Not Just Hype, But Real-World Infrastructure We’re wrapping up this special Tokyo series of Couchonomics, filmed at the GFTN Forum — and what better way to close than with a bold conversation on the future of financial systems? In this final episode, I’m joined by Naveen Mallela, Co-Head of Kinexys & Managing Director at JP Morgan — and we’re going beyond the buzzwords to talk about what it really takes to rewire the plumbing of global finance. ...

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24:59

How Japanese Capital is Changing the Game in...

Couchonomics with Arjun ·

2025/04/30

Redefining Microfinance — With Feet on the Ground & Fire in the Belly What if the future of financial inclusion wasn’t digital-first… but human-first? In this Tokyo edition of Couchonomics with Arjun, we had the chance to sit down with Taejun Shin, Founder & CEO of Gojo — a rapidly growing microfinance platform working across 13 countries and reaching millions of underserved customers throughout the Global South. As for Gojo? Many are calling it the “private sector’s answer to ...

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31:57

Japan’s VC Market: Navigating a New Era of Investment

Couchonomics with Arjun ·

2025/04/28

Rewiring fintech infrastructure — operator-led, globally scaled Couchonomics with Arjun is once again beaming in from Japan. This time, we're joined by Logan Allin, Founder & Managing Partner at Fin Capital. Logan’s journey from SoFi Ventures to building Fin Capital is rooted in one big idea — fintech doesn’t need more flashy consumer apps, it needs better infrastructure. We unpack: 💼 Why Fin Capital backs B2B fintech for banks, insurers, and asset managers 🌍 Fin Capital...

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33:52

Inside SMBC’s Asia Innovation Center: The Future of...

Couchonomics with Arjun ·

2025/04/25

Rethinking Core Banking — From the Inside Out In this special GFTN Japan edition of Couchonomics with Arjun, we welcome Mayoran Rajendra, Managing Director and Head of the Asia Innovation Center at SMBC — one of Japan’s largest financial institutions. We discuss how his team is re-engineering the core of corporate banking using generative AI, automation, and agentic infrastructure — not just adding on shiny tools, but rebuilding from within. 🔍 In this episode: - How data-driven dashbo...

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35:57

The Future of Financial Regulation: RegTech, AI &...

Couchonomics with Arjun ·

2025/04/23

What happens when alternative finance moves faster than regulation? On this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, Professor Bob Wardrop — Co-Founder of the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance and RegGenome — breaks down why global regulatory frameworks are struggling to keep up. We explore: Why many regulators are still stuck in a pre-2008 mindsetThe rise of machine-readable, computational regulationWhat Japan is getting right (and wrong) in the fintech raceHow to actually build innovation...

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25:43

Regulators, Reform & Bitcoin: Japan’s Crypto Future

Couchonomics with Arjun ·

2025/04/21

Japan is regulated, conservative — and still ahead of the curve in digital assets. In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, recorded in Tokyo with the support of GFTN Forum Japan, we sit down with Genki Oda, Managing Executive Director at SBI Holdings and Chairman of the Japan Virtual and Crypto Assets Exchange Association (JVCEA). Genki has played a central role in shaping Japan’s digital asset landscape, and in this candid conversation, he shares sharp insights on where crypto is headed ...

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31:38

Why Japan’s Startup Ecosystem Isn’t Scaling — Yet

Couchonomics with Arjun ·

2025/04/17

Why hasn’t Japan produced more global startup giants? In this special Japan series of Couchonomics with Arjun, recorded in Tokyo and in collaboration with GFTN Forum Japan, Arjun sits down with Jordan Fisher, Venture Partner at Antler and Co-founder of Zehitomo. From the hidden inefficiencies in Japan’s service economy to the deeper structural and cultural barriers that limit growth, this conversation explores what it will take to build a more ambitious, globally competitive startup ecosystem...

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38:42

Special Episode: Japan FinTech Week and GFTN Forum

Couchonomics with Arjun ·

2025/02/19

Japan has long been a leader in financial technology, from pioneering 24/7 ATMs to developing QR codes and digital payment systems. But in recent years, the country has struggled to keep up with the global fintech revolution. That might be about to change. In this episode, Pieter Franken, Managing Director of GFTN Japan, joins us to explore Japan’s fintech resurgence and what’s driving innovation in the region. With Japan FinTech Week and the GFTN Japan Forum on the horizon, we discuss: - J...

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52:17

Ep 110. Fintech Frontier: AI & Blockchain Leading the...

Couchonomics with Arjun ·

2025/02/11

That’s a wrap on Season 3 of #Couchonomics! And we’re ending on a high note. In this season finale, we welcome Dr. Marwan Alzarouni, CEO of AI at the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, to the couch for an insightful discussion on how AI is reshaping industries, the evolution of blockchain, and Dubai’s vision for a tech-driven economy. We also cover: ✅ AI’s role in Dubai’s government and economic strategy ✅ The intersection of AI and blockchain for security, efficiency, and ...

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168 results

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