Deepak Gusain, COO of Cartex – Interview Series

Deepak Gusain, COO of Cartex, is a seasoned technology executive with more than 20 years of experience in global digital infrastructure and enterprise innovation. Prior to joining Cartex, he spent 17 years in senior leadership roles at Tata Communications, where he oversaw large-scale digital transformation initiatives across sectors such as telecom, aviation, media, manufacturing, and government.

Cartex is a fintech and telecom infrastructure company providing payment, card issuance, and connectivity solutions. Its platform supports debit cards, payment gateways, fraud protection, eSIMs, and global IoT connectivity, serving banks, merchants, and digital-first businesses looking to scale efficiently.

Can you walk us through your decision to join Cartex as COO, and what excites you most about taking on this role in mid-2025?

I had the privilege of spending 17 years at Tata Communications, with over a decade in executive roles. It was an incredible journey that gave me exposure to global markets, innovative technologies, and some of the most talented people in the industry. That experience shaped me both professionally and personally, and I’ll always value it.

At the same time, after nearly two decades in one organization, I felt it was the right moment to apply that foundation in a new arena. I wanted to stretch myself further—exploring new industries, new challenges, and new ways of creating impact.

Stepping into the role of COO at Cartex came at exactly the right time. The fintech space, with its pace of change and demand for agility, is exciting. It requires the same curiosity, adaptability, and strategic thinking that I enjoy most. And for me, it feels a bit like strength training: you grow by adjusting the load and tempo, not by repeating what you’ve already mastered. That’s the energy I’m bringing into Cartex.

How do your experiences at Tata Communications—particularly in building digital infrastructure and mobility ecosystems—shape your strategy for scaling Cartex’s operations globally?

During my 17 years at Tata Communications, I had the opportunity to help build digital infrastructure and mobility ecosystems that spanned continents. That experience gave me a strong understanding of what it takes to scale platforms globally—how to solve problems at scale, balance when to accelerate versus when to pause, and ensure systems are robust enough to serve diverse markets.

What excites me at Cartex is applying that foundation in a very different context. Unlike a large enterprise, fintech requires a different rhythm—one that balances speed with trust. At Cartex, scaling isn’t just about moving fast; it’s about building systems that are agile enough to adapt locally, while still maintaining the consistency and reliability that global customers expect. My time at Tata equipped me with the discipline and global perspective, and now Cartex gives me the chance to channel that experience into a more entrepreneurial, fast-paced environment.

With Cartex’s recent opening of its Dubai HQ in Dubai Internet City, how will that location support expansion across MENA, APAC, and Europe?

Dubai was a very natural next step for us, as it has truly become a fintech hub – rich in talent, deeply connected between East and West, and home to a vibrant ecosystem of regulators, partners, and innovators. Setting up at Dubai Internet City places us right at the center of that momentum, enabling us to scale more seamlessly across MENA, APAC, and Europe.

For Cartex, this location is not just about having an office; it’s about building a launchpad for our broader ambitions. Dubai gives us the environment to experiment with and accelerate our initiatives—whether that’s expanding our merchant platform across industries like telco, e-commerce, and travel, or deepening our fintech capabilities around payments, fraud prevention, and orchestration.

Within this broader vision, the Creator Hub is an important piece of the story. It reflects our commitment to supporting the next generation of digital entrepreneurs and content creators – offering them a space to collaborate, produce, and grow. But the Creator Hub is just one example of how we see Dubai as a place where ideas come alive and then scale globally. That combination of ecosystem, infrastructure, and vision is what makes Dubai Internet City such a powerful home for Cartex.

In your view, how can telecom infrastructure amplify efforts toward financial inclusion, especially in underserved developing markets?

I do believe that telecom networks are the backbone of financial inclusion. In many developing markets, a mobile phone is often the only device that connects people to the wider world. When you pair that connectivity with the right fintech layer, it transforms into a gateway for payments, savings, credit, and even more advanced services.

For those of us who live in markets where banking and apps are easily accessible, this may seem obvious, but in places like Africa or India, traditional banks still don’t reach everyone – yet almost everyone has a phone. That phone, when connected to telecom infrastructure, becomes their first step into the financial system.

And that’s where the next generation of fintech comes in: enabling secure digital wallets, providing cross-border payment access for families and migrant workers, building fraud-resistant fintech platforms, and offering seamless merchant acceptance for businesses. These are not just incremental improvements – they’re the building blocks of a truly inclusive financial ecosystem powered by connectivity.

What role does embedded finance play in accelerating inclusion across MENA and APAC, and how is Cartex positioning itself in that space?

Just like telecom, I see embedded finance as a possibility for financial inclusion. It makes it possible to open accounts or wallets for people left out from the global economy, remotely, at low cost, and directly within apps and platforms they already use. The potential is massive: as I know that in APAC alone, the embedded finance market is expected to reach $250 billion in a few years. That’s the scale we were talking about. So, the role of Cartex is to be in the middle of this change, making inclusion possible across markets that need it most.

How do you see fintech tools, like the “One Payment Button,” support merchants in building sustainable revenue streams?

From what I see, the main problem for small merchants is to turn their business ideas into steady income, because the moment they try, they face complicated payment systems. That’s where tools like the One Payment Button can help to keep things easier. Put simply, merchants focus on their products, and the platform quietly handles the payments in the background. It also builds trust with their audience. People see the button, they know it’s safe, and paying becomes effortless. And when payments are smooth, merchants can get what they need — stable income, which will motivate them to continue and grow.

What lessons from the MENA fintech landscape can Europe—or other mature markets—learn as they debate sovereignty in payments?

The UAE has managed to build one of the most advanced payment systems in the world, moving away from a cash-heavy economy. Thanks to projects like Jaywan and Aani you can pay and receive funds instantly, with simple tools like a phone number or even QR code. At the same time, this local infrastructure is not isolated at all. They work even in conjunction with international networks, so it’s both secure and connected globally.

Europe, on the contrary, is still fragmented. Countries use different systems, so adoption is uneven, and they most still rely heavily on foreign networks like Visa and Mastercard. That’s why the most important lesson to learn from the UAE is that payments should be treated like critical infrastructure. When governments, banks, and even startups work together to achieve the same goal, it becomes much easier to build your own financial tools, make them integrated and reach long-awaited financial independence.

How does Cartex navigate varied regulatory landscapes across regions, and what best practices have proven effective?

Regulations are different everywhere, and everchanging. With this in mind, our strategy is to stay ahead instead of just reacting. We want to proactively anticipate changes, not to lag. We spend a lot of time building strong relationships with our regulated partners, who are the best in the industry, and we can surely keep an eye on what’s coming next. It’s also about having people who really understand both the business and the local regulations, and who can adapt as rules update. That’s exactly the kind of expertise we have in our compliance team. They stay alert, keep learning, and find ways to follow the rules without slowing the business down. 

Over the next 6 to 12 months, what milestones do you aim for in terms of market traction, product development, or ecosystem growth?

In the next year, our big focus is on growth, making sure Cartex reaches more markets across MENA, APAC, and Europe. Having the Dubai HQ gives us a strong base to expand and to connect with partners across the region. As for the product side, we want to make our tools even smoother. Things like the One Payment Button, our enterprise payments orchestration & risk platform, and the crypto and telecom payment solutions will keep improving so that using Cartex feels as useful as possible.

We’re also growing our ecosystem, and over the next year, we want our subsidiaries to work even more closely together so our payment services become better. In the end, the growth is about building a system that really works, not just about adding new clients for better statistics. We want to see our company as the one that helps businesses thrive, brings more people into the financial system, and supports merchants, creators and innovators along the way.

How do you measure Cartex’s impact—be it by creator success, financial inclusion metrics, or geographic expansion?

As I mentioned, for us, success is not beautiful numbers that have nothing behind them.

We measure our users’ satisfaction and the real difference we can bring to their lives. Their feedback is important and tells us what’s working well and where we need to improve. 

Geographic expansion matters too, as we deal with cross-border payments. We aim to reach more countries every year, but at the same time, we have a meaningful adoption, not just for numbers. The overall health of our ecosystem is another indicator for us —  how our partners are growing and whether their processes are becoming simpler and more efficient.