Towards this end, Bank Negara Malaysia stands ready to extend our assistance in accessing the necessary statistics on broad market trends and developments, where appropriate, to support such research and development. The emergence of new delivery channels such as the internet and mobile phones have significantly altered the traditional banking-customer relationship. Technological development has also transformed the payment systems industry, with the introduction of new payment instruments and entry of nonbanks into payment services, thus facilitating the migration to e-payments. Additionally, we are among the first in the world to migrate, on a national basis, towards the use of chip-based ATM, payment and identity cards. Through greater research and development in understanding the customer's behavior and preferences, financial players can further capitalize on these insights to develop new and more innovative products and services as well as distribution channels to meet customer demand. BIS Review 63/2006  1  In Malaysia , the changing economic and financial landscape brings about many opportunities for new products and services. With the accelerating pace of financial integration, financial institutions are presented with opportunities to broaden beyond domestic borders to capture opportunities from regional markets. Infact, we are acknowledged as being in the forefront globally in Islamic banking and finance. But these opportunities cannot be fully seized without sound research and development work. Successful financial services players must leverage on technological expertise to deliver superior products and services.

These include Thai banks’ aim to reduce cash usage and payment cost, leading to collective investment in the new faster pay infrastructure; banks’ and non-banks’ leveraging on the interoperability of our open infrastructure and common standards to compete and expand the range of products and services; and regulators’ and policy agencies’ active roles in promoting financial innovations and digital adoption. FinTech and digital finance have been and will continue to be among the top policy agenda of the Bank of Thailand. We need to further develop digital finance infrastructure, promote innovation, enable dynamic competition, and enhance adoption by the Thai people and businesses. Ladies and gentlemen, While technology advancement and technology adoption will remain crucial, there is another important aspect of financial services that we must not forget as we move on with our FinTech agenda: the value of financial network. Unlike other products and services, financial services will serve the people and the society best only when money—either in the form of physical cash or digital money—can freely flow without cost and friction. In today’s digital world, it is equally important that individuals and society can benefit from financial transaction  2  data. Therefore, preserving and strengthening the value of financial network will be imperative in advancing the development of our financial system. On the opposite end of a strong financial network is fragmentation, whereby financial systems and payment services become fragmented by the use of different core infrastructures or different standards that are controlled by a few dominant players.