Couchonomics with Arjun

Jayesh Patel is the CEO of Wio Bank. Recently launched less than a year ago, Wio bank is remarkable because it targets a segment of the population that may be the most under-served in the world: micro businesses, which account for over 99% of all business activity in the world.

Jayesh is highly passionate as he discusses the evolution of banking in practical terms. He talks us through how the relationship between banks and the public has historically transformed with the advent of technology. However, customers often need to be made aware of the labor required to make these transformations possible.

Transitioning to online banking took over a decade, and implementing mobile banking also took many years of work to build the infrastructure reliably. Jayesh also discusses:

• The role of neobanks in the global economy
• Navigating the imminent slowdown in the funding cycle
• The longterm impact fintechs have had on banking

Our website 👉 https://bit.ly/3jk7UH0

Find us on our social media platforms:

• Arjun's LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjunvirsingh/
• CCN LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/couchonomics-with-arjun-singh/
• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/couchonomics/
• Twitter https://twitter.com/Arjun_Vir_Singh?s=20
• TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@couchonomics

Subscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter, Couchonomics Crunch: https://bit.ly/3WI4A6E

In this episode, we take a step back from the world of finance to get a bigger picture of the way technology is influencing all of our lives. Our guide to this evolution is Dr Noah Raford, the renowned futurist and the mind behind the incredible Museum of the Future.

The first task Dr Raford is burdened with is explaining what exactly a futurist does. He describes a profession built around making sense of the variety of technological advancements constantly being made to help decision-makers make the most informed choices.

We also discuss several of the hottest topics in the tech space right now, including

• How artificial intelligence may disrupt entire political and financial systems
• A brief examination of how Twitter has changed since Elon Musk took over
• How humanity may adapt to the technologies around us sustainably

Our website 👉 https://bit.ly/3jk7UH0

Find us on our social media platforms:

• Arjun's LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjunvirsingh/
• CCN LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/couchonomics-with-arjun-singh/
• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/couchonomics/
• Twitter https://twitter.com/Arjun_Vir_Singh?s=20
• TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@couchonomics

Subscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter, Couchonomics Crunch: https://bit.ly/3WI4A6E

In the second part of our unprecedented 2-Part episode, we're diving into the technical aspects that make crypto possible to understand some of its most practical use cases. One of the most glamorous uses for crypto is obviously the possibility to make and receive payments.

Dominic Longman and Nadeem Ladki explore how the relationship between crypto and fiat currencies is pushing crypto towards evolving more as an ecosystem and less as an industry in the traditional sense. We also explore a slew of other topics such as:

• How CBDCs may affect the crypto market
• The growing role of regulations in the crypto market
• Crypto as a payments solution

Our website 👉 https://bit.ly/3jk7UH0

Find us on our social media platforms:

• Arjun's LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjunvirsingh/
• CCN LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/couchonomics-with-arjun-singh/
• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/couchonomics/
• Twitter https://twitter.com/Arjun_Vir_Singh?s=20
• TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@couchonomics

Subscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter, Couchonomics Crunch: https://bit.ly/3WI4A6E

Cryptocurrency has emerged as one of the most exciting investment opportunities in history. While the field is still in its nascency, multiple users have thrown their support behind this invention and have begun to find use cases that take crypto out of the abstract and into the real world. No company exemplifies this as much as Binance.

With over 150 million users around the world, Binance is the preeminent crypto exchange in the world. To explore more about what this position means in an evolving crypto landscape and perhaps even take a peek at the crystal ball, we're joined by Dominic Longman and Nadeem Ladki.

As Senior Executive Officer at Binance Abu Dhabi and the Executive Director, Head of BD & Partnerships - Europe & MENA respectively, Dominic and Nadeem explore the impact of running an exchange that has secured over 70% of the market. While many may grow complacent, Dominic assures us that the competition keeps them on their toes, innovating and inventing new ways to provide value to their customers.

In this first part of our exclusive two-part episode with Binance, Dominic and Nadeem discuss a great many things, shedding light on topics such as:

• How crypto security has evolved since the FTX revelation
• How regulation in MENA has fostered a crypto-friendly, forward-thinking culture
• An examination of how Binance's investment style differs from a private equity firm

Our website 👉 https://bit.ly/3jk7UH0

Find us on our social media platforms:

• Arjun's LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjunvirsingh/
• CCN LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/couchonomics-with-arjun-singh/
• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/couchonomics/
• Twitter https://twitter.com/Arjun_Vir_Singh?s=20
• TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@couchonomics

Subscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter, Couchonomics Crunch: https://bit.ly/3WI4A6E

In this episode, we depart from our usual fintech discourse and talk about something a little more high-speed than payments. Amna Al Qubaisi is a professional race car driver who has the prestigious honour of being the first Emirati woman to race in Formula 3, as well as being one of the first women to drive in Formula E.

Joining me on this episode, Amna shares her unique experiences with being behind the wheel of a racing machine. After a little bit of nostalgic reminiscing on the days of the legends such as Schumacher, Senna, and Prost, we open up our discussion into the evolution of the modern racing world.

We discuss her background and how she ended up behind the wheel of a race car. We also examine why there aren't more women in racing like she is around the world, revealing insightful, unexpected answers. Listen now to also find out:

• Some of the challenges unique to being a woman in F1
• What corporations can do to see more women in F1
• How technology has influenced F1 over the years vs driver skill

Our website 👉 https://bit.ly/3jk7UH0

Find us on our social media platforms:

• Arjun's LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjunvirsingh/
• CCN LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/couchonomics-with-arjun-singh/
• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/couchonomics/
• Twitter https://twitter.com/Arjun_Vir_Singh?s=20
• TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@couchonomics

Subscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter, Couchonomics Crunch: https://bit.ly/3WI4A6E

Leila Hurstel might have the coolest job title ever as the Chief Metaverse Officer at Verse Estate, but today she wears the title of guest on Couchonomics. Settling comfortably into the famous couch, Leila shares a brief overview of her time spent studying fintech at Harvard before pioneering the AllStarsWomen DAO.

Leila shares how the decentralized autonomous organization arose out of a deep desire to transform society, and how blockchain technology enables her to do that with a committed, dedicated community. Leila describes how community is key to many of the futuristic projects in the works, including the metaverse.

Regulation for the metaverse is still massively behind the curve, and in many ways, this represents the underdeveloped metaverse environment. However, Leila is quick to point out that this represents a massive potential for growth more than anything, and many companies have begun to recognize it.

Major corporations such as Gucci and Nike have taken to the metaverse for a more immersive experience, Leila explains. and the numbers indicate a massive underlying demand for the product, as up to 21 million people have actively interacted with the metaverse. Although the metaverse is, in many ways, still restricted to floating heads and half-bodies, Leila believes that this simply signals how early the market is in its ambitious development cycle. Leila points to interoperability as one of the main building blocks that will form the foundation of the metaverse.

Decentralization, distinctions from web 3.0 and much more: Leila gives a complete tour of everything you need to know about the fledgling metaverse.

Listen to the full episode now to discover how:

• Companies are making the jump into the Metaverse and how this will fuel the growth of the metaverse (05:00-15:00)
• The metaverse differs from web 3.0, and how the user-centric approach of web 3.0 will redefine modern instant communication (15:00-25:00)
• The metaverse is truly a multiverse. We also explore real-world applications of the metaverse, including digital twins and much more. (25:00-35:00)

Our website 👉 https://bit.ly/3jk7UH0

Find us on our social media platforms:

• Arjun's LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjunvirsingh/
• CCN LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/couchonomics-with-arjun-singh/
• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/couchonomics/
• Twitter https://twitter.com/Arjun_Vir_Singh?s=20
• TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@couchonomics

Subscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter, Couchonomics Crunch: https://bit.ly/3WI4A6E

Couchonomics is back! For our inaugural episode of Season 02 we're examining the Buy Now, Pay Later model with Mr. Buy Now, Pay Later himself, Hosam Arab: Co-Founder and CEO of Tabby.

Buy Now, Pay Later has been an exciting sector to watch. Just a few years ago many viewed it as the golden child of the embedded finance space and now just as many people view it as an objective failure. Hosam believes the truth is more nuanced.

According to Hosam, BNPL brings tremendous value to the right markets, but the model is not a panacea that can be blindly applied to any scenario. By dutifully serving their customer base in MENA, Hosam describes how Tabby has managed to avoid many common BNPL pitfalls to ascend to a leader in the region with over 3 million customers and 5,000 businesses using their services.

In this episode, Hosam also reveals:

• The demand for BNPL in regions such as the UAE, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia
• A possible source for a lot of the negativity thrown towards BNPL services
• How does a BNPLs' risk appetite compare to traditional lenders such as banks

Couchonomics with Arjun Season 02 is brought to you by our partners:

• Adyen
• ToYou
• Visa
• Geidea
• M2P

Find us on our social media platforms:

• Arjun's LinkedIn
• CCN LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Twitter
• TikTok

Subscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter, Couchonomics Crunch.

Follow 'Couchonomics with Arjun Singh' on any app you listen to podcasts and subscribe to Couchonomics YouTube channel

Our website 👉 https://bit.ly/3jk7UH0

Find us on our social media platforms:

• Arjun's LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjunvirsingh/
• CCN LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/couchonomics-with-arjun-singh/
• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/couchonomics/
• Twitter https://twitter.com/Arjun_Vir_Singh?s=20
• TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@couchonomics

Subscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter, Couchonomics Crunch: https://bit.ly/3WI4A6E

Couchonomics kicks off its Amsterdam Special with the Chief Commercial Officer at Adyen, Roelant Prins. 

Having led a career in fintech for over 20 years, Roelant has personally experienced the rapid development of the sector. He worked with the Royal bank of Scotland in early 2000 before moving on to head numerous leadership and management roles in payments technology. Roelant has been a speaker on major platforms such as Money 20/20 Asia, Vivatech 2019 & 2022. 

In this special episode recorded in Adyen offices in Amsterdam, Roelant talks us through the evolution of commerce and fintech. He describes how the two have slowly merged over the years under a concept known as “unified commerce”.

Roelant also shares how Adyen has positioned itself as an industry leader, not just in the payments space, but in the financial technology sector. 

Other topics discussed include:

●      The fine, but vital distinction between multichannel commerce and unified commerce

●      The concept of invisible payments and how that may be achieved

●      Adyen’s expansion in coming years.

Timeline

00:00— Introduction

03:00— Unified Commerce

09:00— Digitization is The Future

15:00— Adyen’s Expansion Beyond Payments

21:00— Choosing the Right Customers

27:00— Leaping into Issuing

33:00— What Makes the Middle East Unique

39:00— Conclusion

Adyen: https://www.adyen.com/

The Season 2 of Couchonomics is coming soon, so stay tuned!

Follow 'Couchonomics with Arjun Singh' on any app you listen to podcasts.

Check out Couchonomics website for all new updates: www.couchonomics.com

HOST

Based in Dubai, Arjun is actively engaged with the Fintech & Start-up ecosystem across the MENA Region and beyond- as a passive investor, an advisory board member and as a commentator on the rapidly evolving scene.

FINTECH NEWS

Subscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter Couchonomics Crunch to receive daily interesting news from the world of Fintech, DeFI, Crypto and beyond: www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6899436665924837377/

PARTNERS

Couchonomics with Arjun Singh is brought to you by our partners from:

Adyen, a reliable end-to-end payments solution that enables businesses to turn payments into a strategic growth driver:

https://www.adyen.com/

Connect with Couchonomics:

Website
https://www.couchonomics.com/

Twitter
https://twitter.com/Arjun_Vir_Singh 

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/couchonomics/

LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjunvirsingh/

TikTok
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMLQYGHoa/

Our website 👉 https://bit.ly/3jk7UH0

Find us on our social media platforms:

• Arjun's LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjunvirsingh/
• CCN LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/couchonomics-with-arjun-singh/
• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/couchonomics/
• Twitter https://twitter.com/Arjun_Vir_Singh?s=20
• TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@couchonomics

Subscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter, Couchonomics Crunch: https://bit.ly/3WI4A6E

When Dr Bernd van Linder attained his PhD in artificial intelligence over 20 years ago, the field was viewed as intensely academic with few practical applications. Not desiring to pursue an academic career, Dr Van Linder entered the world of finance in the early 2000s. Over his 20 plus year career he has slowly worked his way to CEO of Commercial Bank of Dubai.

In his new position, Dr Van Linder is excited to drive innovation and change in the region by expanding how banks view their competition. As consumers become conditioned to interfaces from some of the world’s biggest tech companies, they begin to expect that same level of ease and connection when it comes to dealing with their banks. Dr van Linder believes that the future will see an explosion of banks applying digital innovation across all levels, and he is focused on optimising the process from end to end.

Dr van Linder also shares his views on

• How decentralized finance will change the world of banking
• The importance of seeking talent beyond the banking industry
• A few differences between banking in Europe and banking in the UAE

Timeline

00:00 – Introduction

04:00 – Practical Applications of AI in Banking

10:00 – The War for Talent

19:00 – Ideas Accelerated by Covid

33:00 – Serving the Under-served

41:00 – Conclusion

Follow 'Couchonomics with Arjun Singh' on any app you listen to podcasts.

Check out Couchonomics website for all new updates:

www.couchonomics.com

HOST

Based in Dubai, Arjun is actively engaged with the Fintech & Start-up ecosystem across the MENA Region and beyond- as a passive investor, an advisory board member and as a commentator on the rapidly evolving scene.

FINTECH NEWS

Subscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter Couchonomics Crunch to receive daily interesting news from the world of Fintech, DeFI, Crypto and beyond:

https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6899436665924837377/

PARTNERS

Couchonomics with Arjun Singh is brought to you by our

partners from:

Adyen, a reliable end-to-end payments solution that enables businesses to turn

payments into a strategic growth driver:

https://www.adyen.com/

LuLu Financial Group, a global financial services provider headquartered in Abu Dhabi

and operating in 11 countries:

https://www.lulufin.com/

M2P, Asia’s leading payment infrastructure company that enables businesses of any

scale to embed financial products:

https://m2pfintech.com/

Connect with Couchonomics:

Website

https://www.couchonomics.com/

TikTok

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMLQYGHoa/

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/couchonomics/

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjunvirsingh/

Our website 👉 https://bit.ly/3jk7UH0

Find us on our social media platforms:

• Arjun's LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjunvirsingh/
• CCN LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/couchonomics-with-arjun-singh/
• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/couchonomics/
• Twitter https://twitter.com/Arjun_Vir_Singh?s=20
• TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@couchonomics

Subscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter, Couchonomics Crunch: https://bit.ly/3WI4A6E

Madhusudanan and Prabhu Rangarajan are the Co-founders of M2P, an innovative, India-born fintech company with ambitious expansion goals for Dubai. However, word on the streets suggests that the party is over for startups, fintech companies included. Madhu and Prabhu start the conversation by highlighting 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.

Innovation is one thing; sustainable innovation is a whole other story. Madhu’s unique lens into the true function of fintech suggests that the problem that fintech is solving, actually is inclusion. Prabhu offers the interesting perspective that smaller players possess the drive to go deeper, as opposed to broader, enabling them to occupy an advantaged position in the market.

We also discuss:

·        Is the party really over for fintech startups or did it just move?

·        Will incumbents emerge stronger than ever from the recent fintech bubble?

·        What does M2P bring to MENA?

Timeline

00:00 – Introduction

03:00 – Valuation reset or something more foundational?

10:00 – Outlasting the downward spiral

18:00 – How embedded finance might grow in MENA

24:00 – Big banks, small banks and each of their roles

30:00 - Motivations for international expansion

36:00 – Democratizing financial access

41:00 – Conclusion

Follow 'Couchonomics with Arjun Singh' on any app you listen to podcasts.

Check out Couchonomics website for all new updates:

www.couchonomics.com

HOST

Based in Dubai, Arjun is actively engaged with the Fintech & Start-up ecosystem across the MENA Region and beyond- as a passive investor, an advisory board member and as a commentator on the rapidly evolving scene.

FINTECH NEWS

Subscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter Daily Fintech Crunch to receive daily interesting news from the world of Fintech, DeFI, Crypto and beyond:

https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/6899436665924837377/

PARTNERS

Couchonomics with Arjun Singh is brought to you by our

partners from:

Adyen, a reliable end-to-end payments solution that enables businesses to turn

payments into a strategic growth driver:

https://www.adyen.com/

LuLu Financial Group, a global financial services provider headquartered in Abu Dhaband operating in 11 countries:

https://www.lulufin.com/

M2P, Asia’s leading payment infrastructure company that enables businesses of any

scale to embed financial products:

https://m2pfintech.com/

Connect with Couchonomics:

Website

https://www.couchonomics.com/

TikTok

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMLQYGHoa/

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/couchonomics/

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjunvirsingh/

Our website 👉 https://bit.ly/3jk7UH0

Find us on our social media platforms:

• Arjun's LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjunvirsingh/
• CCN LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/couchonomics-with-arjun-singh/
• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/couchonomics/
• Twitter https://twitter.com/Arjun_Vir_Singh?s=20
• TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@couchonomics

Subscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter, Couchonomics Crunch: https://bit.ly/3WI4A6E