Couchonomics with Arjun

BNPL payment industry in Africa & Middle East has seen huge growth over the last four quarters, supported by increased ecommerce penetration along with the impact of economic slowdown due to disruption caused by COVID-19 outbreak. According to the Q4 2021 BNPL Survey, the BNPL payment industry in the region is expected to grow by 99.8% on an annual basis to reach US$ 7187.8 million in 2022! To...

Visa as the world leader in digital payments has a relentless commitment to innovation. It is widely considered that Visa is actually the first fintech in the world. That is why we're so excited to have on the couch Dr. Saeeda Jaffar, Senior Vice President & Group Country Manager – GCC, Visa. Saeeda is a chemical engineer who shifted into the fintech sector couple of years ago and in this...

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? Those are just some of the questions we got to ask Olivier Crespin, Co-Founder and CEO of Zand, and General Partner at...

Over the past 25 years, Network International has built a business based on long-standing and trusted relationships with many of the leading merchants, financial institutions and payment networks operating in the Middle East and Africa. In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun we are discussing the mission of the Network International, an overview of the MENA’s current state when it comes to the...

How to navigate and seize the opportunities in disruption that is happening in the banking industry and financial services? To uncover what the future holds for different players that are offering financial services, in this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun we have Philippe De Backer, Managing Partner and Leader of Global Financial Services Practice at Arthur D. Little. Together with Ignacio Gar...

Crypto markets are in free fall this month. To understand better what is behind recent events in the Crypto world we invited Anas Bhurtun & Danosch Zahedi, hosts of Crypto Sheikhs podcast, a fantastic show that is tracking and explaining what is going on with cryptocurrencies. For the first time we had two guests on the couch at the same time, which resulted in a super-insightful chat about th...

The OTT (over-the-top) streaming market in the MENA region has been rapidly increasing in the last couple of years, gaining more than 30% between 2020 and 2021 and reaching over 10 million subscribers in the 18 countries of the Arab MENA region. The trend should sharpen in the next five years, as the subscriber figure is expected to triple by 2026 and reach close to 30 million. In this episode of...

Neobanks are emerging rapidly across the world, all of them trying to solve many challenges that are preventing a seamless and safe digital banking experience.  From government regulation to data confidentiality, multiple issues need to be solved so we can enter a new era of fully digital banking. That is why we invited Amir Nooriala on the couch - Chief Commercial Officer at Callsign, the global...

Welcome to a very special edition of Couchonomics podcast! This episode features not one, not two, but 3 guests + a surprise guest appearance from someone very special (who actually asked the most relevant question of the show). We had Verity 's 3 founders - Dina , Kamal and Omar on the couch for the episode. Verity is a Middle East’s family banking app for kids and teens that is soon launchi...

The "By Now, Pay Later" model has been around for 200 years. After being repackaged and rebranded countless times, it is currently one of the hottest spaces in FinTech, with BNPL accounting for 20% of e-commerce in countries such as Australia. In this episode of Couchonomics, we are joined on the couch by a BNPL industry insider to get an informed perspective on this increasingly polaris...

The status quo in the financial services sector is constantly changing. Innovation is the name of the game. If banks want to stay relevant in these evolving times, they need to be at the technological forefront and provide convenient, flexible payment solutions customers trust. Ramana Kumar joins Arjun on the couch to share his perspective on this fascinating topic. Ramana is the CEO of Magnati ,...

The latest episode of Couchonomics with Arjun is here. This one is a real treat! Our guest is Ronit Ghose, the Global Head of Banking, FinTech & Digital Assets for Citi Global Insights. He joined us on Couchonomics to give us a sneak preview of Citi's amazing new report: Metaverse and Money: Decrypting the Future. We discussed Metaverse and how will it impact the way we are accessing the...

Our esteemed guest for Episode 01 is Roberto Croci, the Managing Director for Microsoft for Startups in MEA! Roberto spoke about the idea of pairing the big corporates and enterprises with startups, and the complex business ecosystem with vast opportunities that have been emerging as a result of this co-op. With 20+ years of experience working with both Google and Microsoft, Roberto explained the...

Fintech is fundamentally reshaping the financial services industry as we know it today. In order to understand the wider vision of these fintech-led disruptions, Arjun Singh will invite the influential stakeholders to 'Couchonomics' show, to discuss and dissect the highs and lows of their own ventures, and how that effects the broader sector. Follow 'Couchonomics with Arjun Singh&ap...