Stablecoins are no longer on the sidelines — they’re stepping into the core of global finance. In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, we're joined by Dante Disparte, Chief Strategy Officer & Head of Global Policy at Circle, for his second appearance on the show. Speaking from Washington, DC, Dante brings a timely perspective on how digital finance is evolving — and why it matters now more than ever. We unpack: - Stablecoins as real financial infrastructure for payments, remittances...

Fraud just had its AI upgrade. It’s faster than your payments and industrialised at a global scale. Welcome to the Scamdemic — a global wave of scams and financial crime growing faster than almost any asset class. We’re joined by Simon Taylor, Head of Strategy at Sardine and Co-Founder of 11:FS. Together, we unpack how fraud has evolved, why it’s so hard to stop, and what financial institutions, fintechs, and regulators must do now. Inside the episode: - Why faster payments = faster f...

Is today’s financial system fit for a digital-first world? Not quite — and Siddharth Shetty is here to tell us why. In this episode of Couchonomics, Arjun speaks with Finternet Labs CEO Siddharth Shetty, one of the architects behind India’s UPI and Account Aggregator framework, to unpack the vision for Finternet — a universal financial infrastructure layer designed to empower users, build trust, and unlock global interoperability. We explore how fragmented rails, legacy systems, and a ...

The future of payments won’t be card-swiped or cash-counted — it’ll be fast, digital, and deeply integrated. In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, Floris de Kort, CEO of Thunes, joins to unpack what it really takes to build a global payments network across 130+ markets, from wallets to banks to mobile rails. What’s inside: - Why real-time payments still face real-world friction - How Thunes is turning compliance into a competitive edge - The rise of B2B payouts — and why corporates ar...

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 &...

💸 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...

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...

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 m...

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 growth-...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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. ...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...