Couchonomics with Arjun

Jaksot

• 
  How Alan Built an €840 Million Health Insurance Business From Scratch 01.09.2026 46min

  Health insurance is one of the few products people pay for while hoping they never have to use it. Alan is trying to change that. In this episode, Jean-Charles Samuelian, Co-founder and CEO of Alan, shares how the company built a full-stack health insurance platform designed around prevention, personalization, and everyday engagement rather than simply paying claims when something goes wrong. They discuss why Alan chose to become a regulated insurer instead of a broker or technology provide...
• 
  How Creditas Built a $3.3 Billion Fintech by Taking on the Hard Loans 25.08.2026 41min

  Latin America has a massive consumer credit market, but high interest rates and short loan maturities continue to put pressure on borrowers. In this episode, Sergio Furio, Founder and CEO of Creditas, shares how the company built an asset-backed lending model around cars and homes, giving customers access to longer-term credit at better rates. They discuss why Creditas moved away from partnering with banks, how securitization became central to the business, why complexity created a stronger...
• 
  Why Islamic Fintech Is Still Being Underestimated 18.08.2026 52min

  Islamic finance is growing globally, but the companies pushing it forward are not always the ones talking about it the loudest. In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, Abdullo Kurbanov, CEO and Co-founder of Ayan Capital, shares how he helped build Alif from a $200,000 start in Tajikistan into a profitable fintech processing $1.2 billion in transactions every month, and why he is now building again from scratch in the UK. They unpack what Islamic finance actually changes for customers, ...
• 
  The $80 Billion SME Lending Opportunity Banks Keep Missing 11.08.2026 51min

  SMEs are central to the UAE economy, yet access to credit remains one of their biggest challenges. In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, Hassan Reda, Co-Founder & CPO of CredibleX, and Anand Nagaraj, Co-Founder & CEO of CredibleX, unpack why SME lending has remained difficult for banks and fintechs, and what needs to change to close the financing gap. They explain how embedded lending can solve the distribution problem, why working-capital finance requires a different approach...
• 
  Why Most Digital Banks Will Never Make Money 28.07.2026 55min

  Digital banks have spent years chasing customer growth. But scale alone does not create profitability. In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, Simon Loong, Founder and Group CEO of WeLab, explains what it takes to build a successful digital bank across Asia. He shares why lending remains central to profitability, why standalone fintechs face a harder path, and how banking licences, AI, stablecoins and regional expansion are shaping the next phase of digital banking. 🎙️ In this episode:...
• 
  Could Your Data Become Your Next Asset? 15.07.2026 52min

  Every day we create data, but almost none of us know who really owns it. In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, André Vellozo, Founder and CEO of DrumWave, joins the show to explore one of the biggest questions facing the digital economy: what if people could own their data the same way they own money? André explains why privacy is only the beginning of the conversation, why AI is accelerating the need for data ownership, and why he believes the world needs entirely new infrastructure ...
• 
  Can AI Build Fintech Unicorns Faster? 30.06.2026 49min

  Can Europe build the next generation of global fintech leaders? In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, Stefan Klestil, General Partner Fintech EMEA, joins the show to discuss venture capital, fintech investing, AI, digital assets, founder psychology, and why the Middle East and Africa have become one of the world's most compelling investment opportunities. Stefan explains why Speedinvest launched its dedicated EMEA fund, what separates exceptional founders from everyone else, and why v...
• 
  Why Open Finance Could Change UAE Banking 23.06.2026 54min

  Is digital banking really about technology anymore? It is becoming a battle for customer relationships, trust, data, and who owns the financial experience. In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, Raheel Ahmed, Group CEO of RAKBANK, returns to discuss open finance, AI, stablecoins, SME banking, regulation, and the future of financial services in the UAE. Raheel explains why open finance is being built for customers rather than banks, why products and pricing are becoming increasingly co...
• 
  Why Uzbekistan May Be Digital Banking’s Next Big Story 26.05.2026 49min

  Digital finance is no longer only about banking apps and payments. It is becoming a question of infrastructure, trust, customer behaviour, and how financial systems evolve in emerging markets. In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, Nika Kurdiani, CEO of TBC Uzbekistan, joins the show for a sharp conversation on digital banking, AI, open banking, and why Uzbekistan is becoming one of the most interesting financial markets to watch. Nika explains how TBC built one of the largest digital...
• 
  When Hackers Understand Banks Better Than Banks Understand Hackers 14.05.2026 54min

  Cybersecurity is no longer just a technical issue, it is now a human, business, and financial system challenge. In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, Arjun is joined by Ralph Echemendia, Ethical Hacker and Cyber Security Expert, for a sharp conversation on hacking psychology, cybercrime, AI-driven fraud, and why financial institutions need to rethink security. Ralph explains why some of the most dangerous attacks are not built on complex code, but on human vulnerability, trust, and so...
• 
  What Happens When Trading Infrastructure Starts Changing the System 14.04.2026 47min

  Before a trading app reaches a user, there is an entire system underneath it doing the real heavy lifting. In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, Arjun is joined by Yoshi Yokokawa, Co-Founder and CEO of Alpaca, for a sharp and wide-ranging conversation on brokerage infrastructure, on-chain finance, market access, and what it really takes to build financial products at global scale. It is a grounded look at how trading has shifted from web to mobile to on-chain, why financial access sti...
• 
  What Happens When Stablecoins Start Competing With Banks? 07.04.2026 47min

  Money is no longer just held. It is moving, earning, and quietly reshaping the system around it. In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, Arjun is joined by Anton Golub, Founding Member of RWA Labs, for a sharp, grounded conversation on what is actually happening beneath the surface of crypto, stablecoins, and tokenization. It is a clear breakdown of how liquidity, leverage, and market structure are shaping Bitcoin cycles, why stablecoins are becoming impossible to ignore, and what happe...
• 
  Can Stablecoins Scale Without Expanding Systemic Risk? 31.03.2026 59min

  Fraud is not new. But the scale, speed, and sophistication have changed. In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, Arjun is joined by Navin Gupta, CEO of Crystal Intelligence, and Nick Smart, Chief Intelligence Officer at Crystal Intelligence, to unpack the evolving world of crypto-related fraud, institutional risk, and the uncomfortable truth about financial crime in a 24/7 digital economy. From the Lazarus Group and the Bybit hack to scam compounds operating at industrial scale, this co...
• 
  How AI Agents and Stablecoins Are Reshaping Modern Banking 26.02.2026 57min

  Is banking really changing at the core, or are we just putting better apps on old rails? In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, Arjun is joined in studio by Jayesh Patel, CEO of Wio Bank PJSC, to unpack what real transformation inside a bank actually looks like, how AI is reshaping operating models, and why stablecoins may compress time in money movement far more than most people realize. They break down the difference between digitizing processes and restructuring around the customer,...
• 
  How Tokenization and Stablecoins Will Change Money Movement 17.02.2026 53min

  Technology is changing what people expect from money, and stablecoins are turning that into reality. In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, Arjun is joined from New York by Stephen Richardson (CSO and Head of Banking at Fireblocks) to break down why digital assets are back at the center of banking strategy, what stablecoins are really unlocking, and where banks are at risk of getting disintermediated if they treat this like “just another rails upgrade.” They unpack the on-chain vs off-...
• 
  Why Japan’s Payments Are About to Change Fast 10.02.2026 42min

  Japan is often seen as a “mature” financial market. But the real story is in what’s quietly shifting underneath. In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, Arjun is joined from Tokyo by Pieter Franken (Co-Founder & CEO at GFTN Japan) to unpack what’s actually changing in Japan’s fintech and digital assets landscape and what it means for founders, investors, and global players looking at the Japan opportunity. They go deep on stablecoins and why Japan may be ahead on regulation, the upc...
• 
  How Deep Payments Infrastructure Creates Real Fintech Advantage 05.02.2026 32min

  Payments in emerging markets are often discussed as infrastructure. But the real differentiation happens in how deeply payments are embedded into business operations. In the final episode of this special Qatar Development Bank series of Couchonomics with Arjun, Arjun sits down in Doha with Saad Ishfaq, CEO of TESS Payments, to unpack how a payments company built for Qatar is scaling by solving real operational pain, not just processing transactions. TESS Payments is a QCB-licensed payment s...
• 
  What It Really Takes to Launch a Fintech in Qatar 04.02.2026 27min

  Financial innovation in the GCC is often framed around payments, licenses, and launch timelines. But the harder work happens long before a product goes live. In this special Qatar Development Bank series of Couchonomics with Arjun, Arjun sits down in Doha with Mohammed Suleiman, Co-Founder and CEO of Karty, to unpack what it really takes to build a regulated fintech company from the ground up in Qatar. Karty is not trying to out-bank banks or outscale telco wallets. Instead, it is being des...
• 
  What It Takes to Scale a Tech Company Like Snoonu From Qatar 03.02.2026 32min

  Most startup stories focus on what companies become. This one focuses on how they are built. In this special Qatar Development Bank series of Couchonomics with Arjun, Arjun sits down in Doha with Hamad Al-Hajri, Founder and CEO of Snoonu, to explore how one of Qatar’s most successful tech companies was built and why its journey matters for the region. Hamad explains why Snoonu was never meant to be just a delivery app, but a speed-led business designed for small, fragmented markets. F...
• 
  Why Ecosystem Design Matters More Than Funding in Startup Growth 02.02.2026 38min

  Innovation ecosystems in the GCC are often judged by funding numbers and startup announcements. But the real work happens in how institutions, capital, and regulation move together. In this special Qatar Development Bank series of Couchonomics with Arjun, Arjun sits down in Doha with Mohammed Al-Emadi, Executive Director of Incubation and VC Investment at QDB, to unpack how Qatar is intentionally building its startup and venture capital ecosystem. Rather than operating as a single funding b...