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Lu Zurawski

founder, iKnowMe

Lu Zurawski

Member since

09 Sep 2014

Location

London

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Lu's opinions

Open Banking and the magic illusion of 24x7 availability

“The more things change, the more they stay the same.” The wisdom in this old adage appears to ring true when applied to the early phases of the evolution of Open Banking (or open payments). Especially when you contrast it with the early days of ATM withdrawals; particularly those made in the dead of night so you could pay cash for your after-par

13 November 2018 /payments Open Banking

Do ATMs dream of electric money?

Its nearly half a century since the famous American science fiction writer, Philip K. Dick wrote the novel, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", which went on to become the Ridley Scott movie, Blade Runner. (Spoiler alert if you have not seen it). Today also marks the 50th anniversary of the world’s first cash-dispensing ATM (Automate...

26 June 2017

The Coin Nudger - will cash ever fall off the edge?

Today's introduction of the new one pound coin has nudged me into contemplation. Isn't it a bit weird that our that society still relies on increasingly complicated metal disks as a way of exchanging value? How deeply rooted is cash in our society? Is it ever likely to be replaced completely by electronic money? A quick consideration of amusement a...

28 March 2017 /payments /retail

Was the EBU responsible for the war on cash in Sweden?

I came across an interesting article about Björn Ulvaeus in this month’s Wired magazine. I hadn’t realized how much of an anti-cash crusader the former Abba star had become. Perhaps the early signs were there - Abba rose to fame with “Waterloo” - possibly a reference to MasterCard, whose European HQ is at Waterloo near Brussels. Bjorn wrote “Money...

13 May 2016 /payments

Will Open APIs lead to Chip and Paw?

On April 6th, a new law comes into force regarding the mandatory embedding of ID microchips in dogs. The UK is a nation of dog lovers, where being a dog is even a key requirement of winning "Britain's Got Talent", so this legislation is a really big deal. Dog owners will need to use veterinary practitioners approved as Pet ID Service Pro...

01 April 2016 /retail

PSD2 and the Hokey-Cokey Conundrum.

I competed last week in a ‘Family Lip Synch Battle’, in a chalet on the Swiss-French border with a rendition of the Hokey Cokey, mimed in German. I now feel curiously qualified to comment on the UK’s position on the European Union. The existential conundrum posed by das Hokey Kokey (“…in?, aus?, man schwenkes alles rum?”...) helped me analyse the...

26 February 2016 /regulation

Apple Watch - Can It Tell A Story?

I've tried to resist writing about Apple Watch. What is there to say that hasn't already been seen in this week's "unboxing" videos, where perplexed buyers struggle to synchronise? But despite my scepticism (unusual for a serial Apple consumer), there is a story to be told. Apple Watch is not necessarily a waste of time. It could influe...

01 May 2015 /retail Innovation in Financial Services

Do payments exist on the big screen?

This week’s announcement (www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=26946 ), of Visa’s product placement deal to show contactless payment technology on popular ITV soap operas like Coronation Street, may be far more revolutionary than I had first thought. Here is a challenge for you; can you find any examples of realistic, electronic consume...

03 February 2015 /payments

How to be charitable with electronic payments

What do you do when a homeless person asks you for cash? No-one is judging you. We are a broad church here across Finextra and acceptable answers may include giving a donation, doing absolutely nothing, or perhaps doing the “pat your pocket – got no change” dance. But how do you respond when the appellant also presents a chip-and-PIN card reader? J...

16 January 2015 /payments

I predict that payment predictions will be wrong

Having read many over-ambitious “Next year will be the year of X” statements, I avoid prediction precision myself. The game of replacing “X” with this year’s, nearly-there technology, and caveating the prediction formula with a few extra parameters is fun, but not risk free. As the Danish quantum physicist Nils Bohr said, “Prediction is very di...

19 December 2014 /payments

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Lu Zurawski

Lu's opinions

Open Banking and the magic illusion of 24x7 availability

Do ATMs dream of electric money?

The Coin Nudger - will cash ever fall off the edge?

Was the EBU responsible for the war on cash in Sweden?

Will Open APIs lead to Chip and Paw?

PSD2 and the Hokey-Cokey Conundrum.

Apple Watch - Can It Tell A Story?

Do payments exist on the big screen?

How to be charitable with electronic payments

I predict that payment predictions will be wrong

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