Singapore, 19 February 2026 — Contour Network has appointed Rahul Bhargava (Linkedin) as Interim Chief Operating Officer, reinforcing operational leadership as the platform enters its next phase of growth following its acquisition by XDC Ventures in Q4 2025.

Bhargava’s appointment will focus on execution. That is, scaling Contour’s core trade-finance capabilities while enabling seamless integration and reconciliation with downstream payments, and giving banks and corporates the flexibility to settle transactions through existing banking channels or approved digital settlement methods across global markets.

He brings deep experience in modernising financial market infrastructure and building interoperability between traditional financial systems and new digital rails. His career spans global payments, cross-border settlement, standards development and large-scale industry collaboration across banks, regulators, international agencies and market infrastructures.

Ritesh Kakkad, Co-Founder of XDC Network and XDC Ventures remarks, “Rahul brings the operational focus and infrastructure experience needed at this stage of Contour’s evolution. His background in scaling financial systems and navigating regulatory complexity aligns directly with our priority: delivering reliable, production-ready solutions for institutional trade finance.”

As Interim COO, Bhargava will oversee platform operations, deepen engagement with existing network members, support membership expansion, and lead the integration of relevant trade, digital asset and settlement capabilities from the XDC ecosystem.

Bhargava comments: “Trade digitisation has moved beyond experimentation. The focus now is delivery — reducing friction, lowering costs, and improving access for businesses engaged in global trade. Contour already has a proven foundation. The opportunity ahead is to extend that foundation by connecting trade execution more seamlessly with settlement, while maintaining the regulatory and operational standards banks and corporates require.”

The role is an interim appointment aligned with a defined growth phase, and will run alongside Bhargava’s existing senior advisory engagements.

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NOTES TO EDITORS

Progressing Contour Networks

Operational since 2017, Contour provides banks and corporates with a production-grade, blockchain-enabled platform for digitising letters of credit (LCs). Member institutions using the network have reduced LC processing times from days to hours across live commodity and manufacturing trades. This core capability remains central, while the platform evolves to support greater flexibility, scale, and settlement optionality in response to changing market demands.

Originally launched by a consortium of global banks including HSBC, Standard Chartered, Citi, BNP Paribas, DBS, ING and others, Contour was established at a time when trade-finance digitisation was still emerging. Today, the operating environment has matured significantly, shaped by regulatory progress, legal frameworks such as MLETR, industry initiatives including TradeTrust and ICC DSI, and growing institutional adoption of tokenised assets and regulated stablecoins.

With the backing of XDC Ventures and access to XDC Network’s institutional-grade infrastructure, Contour is positioned to bridge trade execution and payment settlement in a way that is compliant, scalable, and practical for banks and corporates.

Biography: Rahul Bhargava 

Rahul Bhargava is a global financial services and payments executive with more than two decades of leadership experience driving digital transformation, cross-border payments innovation, and financial market infrastructure modernization. He is recognised internationally for his work advancing next-generation payment systems, interoperability between traditional and emerging financial rails, and strategic coordination across public and private sectors.

Rahul has led and advised major initiatives with organisations such as World Bank Group, the World Economic Forum, and leading industry think tanks, focusing on digital money evolution, instant cross-border payments, CBDC interoperability, and the responsible integration of emerging technologies. His work involves high-level collaboration with banks, regulators, standards bodies, fintechs and multilateral institutions to address systemic challenges in payments and financial infrastructure.

A regular speaker and contributor at global forums including Sibos, Money 20/20 and the Singapore FinTech Festival, Rahul has been recognised as a thought leader in the future of finance, digital transformation and responsible AI application in financial services. He holds advisory and leadership roles across industry groups and consults for public and private sector organisations navigating complex digital and payments ecosystems.

In his role as Interim Chief Operating Officer of Contour Network, Rahul will focus on scaling operational execution, deepening institutional engagement and advancing the integration of core trade finance processes with flexible settlement options that span established banking channels and regulated digital settlement methods.

Interviews: Interview requests with Rahul Bhargava or Ritesh Kakkad are welcome. Please contact Ashwini Shinde, Sr. PR Executive, Madchatter Brand Solutions, ashwini@madchatter.in, tel: +91 989210861.

This press release has also been published on VRITIMES