Zeti Akhtar Aziz: Migration to E-payments Keynote address by Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia, at the Payment Systems Forum and Exhibition 2005, Kuala Lumpur, 28 November 2005. *  *  *  Bismillahhirrahmanirrahim Distinguished guests, Ladies and gentlemen, It is my pleasure to welcome all of you to the Payment Systems Forum and Exhibition 2005. The theme of this inaugural forum is the "Migration to E-Payments" with a focus on the issues and challenges in the transition from paper-based payments to electronic payments in Malaysia. The issues that need to be addressed for a nation to effectively migrate from paper-based payment instruments to electronic means of payments are multi-faceted. This will require changes in the infrastructure and business processes, developing and sustaining users'confidence and inculcating a change among all the relevant stakeholders, including the service providers and the customers. Our objective is to transform the payments system into one that is competitively leveraged on a modern market-based system. Indeed, this will need to be achieved by the cumulative efforts of all parties involved, including the industry and the authorities. This forum and exhibition has, therefore been organised to provide a platform to discuss the range of significant issues and challenges in achieving the common vision of migrating to e-payments in Malaysia and to increase public awareness of the various payment channels available in the market today, as well as to discuss views on the development of services and infrastructure for the next generation of systems.

It needs to address the broader issues revolving around building public awareness and confidence, promoting greater convenience; reviewing business and operating practices and finally, addressing the commercial interfaces between the customers and the service providers. Allow me to take this opportunity to elaborate on these issues. Ladies and Gentlemen, E-payment increases operational efficiency and improves productivity levels through expedient payments and receipts of funds as well as through the reduction or redeployment of resources used for handling cash and cheques. Whilst the migration to e-payment may require considerable investment and effort to provide the enabling infrastructure, the use of e-payments provide consumers with greater convenience and security that would result in cost savings in the long run. In this regard, it is important for the financial institutions and payment service providers to provide more widespread access points for electronic payment services via multiple channels, including the automated teller machines, the point-of-sale terminals, the gated toll and parking gantries and through the network channels and devices, such as the Internet and the mobile phones. Needless to say, the payment products and services need to be continuously enhanced to meet the changing needs of the consumers. BIS Review 84/2005  1  In addition, the efforts to increase the use of e-payments will not only hinge on the capacity of the service providers to ensure that e-payment services are convenient, but also secure. In the area of fraud prevention, the industry would need to be constantly vigilant to maintain consumers'confidence.