Increasingly, money services business provides and support tourism, business travel and cross-border trade activities in a more globalised world economy. According to a World Bank report, it is estimated that nearly 1 out of 7 persons is a migrant, reflecting the large and diverse diaspora community in the world today. Worker remittances to developing countries were in excess of USD400 billion last year and represent a key source of external resource flows. These flows support economic growth in developing countries, far exceeding official development assistance. More than USD 1 trillion was spent on global business travel expenditure in 2013 and more than 1 billion in international tourist arrivals are recorded each year. In 2013, business activities supported world trade volume of over USD 23 trillion. All of these developments have created new and greater demand for remittance, currency exchange and other financial services that can be offered by money services businesses. The industry itself has also become more diverse. Advancements in technology have enabled new business models, offering new product and service, innovations and forming of new alliances. These enhancements have the potential to further lower cost and increase convenience to consumers. Global money services companies exist alongside niche and smaller companies that focus on serving local communities. This has fostered competition and helped to fill market gaps. Today, money services are provided through a network of branches and agents of money services entities, retail outlets, post offices, banks and mobile channels. Operational standards are also diverse across entities.

As life supporting systems in nature deteriorate, so too does our capacity to adapt and build resilience against adverse events. As we think about the financial sector’s response, this understanding on the interactions between 1/3  BIS central bankers' speeches  biodiversity and climate resilience is important from at least two perspectives. First, it crucially promotes the effectiveness of current efforts to tackle the climate crisis. Second, it enables the financial sector to leverage on climate initiatives to accelerate the equally pressing response needed to address broader nature-related risks. This includes initiatives to build capacity and address data gaps. Consistent with these considerations, the Climate Change and Principlesbased Taxonomy adopted for the financial sector in Malaysia incorporates the principle of “do no significant harm to the environment,” which requires an economic activity to protect healthy ecosystems and biodiversity. This is particularly important for Malaysia, one of the world’s megadiverse countries. Our livelihoods and economic activities are supported by natural ecosystems. The tourism sector for instance benefits from the existence and maintenance of lush rainforests and marine life. The manufacturing, agriculture and construction sectors depend on land, soil, plants, animals, water and minerals as inputs and enablers of production. Our economy is fundamentally embedded in this web of natural systems that provide, support, maintain and regulate our activities. Thus, the collapse of these systems, could pose a serious threat to society and the economy. The relationship between nature and the economy is, however, complex.