Caleb M Fundanga: Setting new standards for cellphone banking Opening remarks by Mr Caleb M Fundanga, Governor of the Bank of Zambia, at the Celpay 2010 Mobile Payments Conference, Lusaka, 27 October 2010. *  *  *  The Chief Executive Officer Celpay International BV The Managing Director – Zain Zambia Limited Managing Director, Celpay Zambia Ltd, Mr Miyanda Mulambo The Conference Chairperson, Mr Maxwell Banda Representatives of Commercial Banks and Financial Institutions present Representatives of International Organizations present Representatives of Zambian business associations Distinguished invited participants Members of the Press Ladies and Gentlemen, It is an honour and privilege for me to officiate at the 2010 Mobile Payments Conference. This year’s conference follows the success of the inaugural 2009 conference and it is therefore my earnest anticipation that as in 2009, you will find the 2010 conference productive and beneficial. The conference provides an excellent opportunity for the exchange of views and sharing of ideas on how to continuously improve the functioning of our financial systems against the backdrop of the global financial turmoil. Mr Chairman, Allow me to begin by commending Celpay Zambia Limited, for making the mobile banking conference an annual event. I hope that the Conference will provide a forum for long-term collaboration in the area of Mobile banking to provide sustainable banking solutions to our people. The Bank of Zambia applauds this initiative which is collaborative and consultative.

This is with the view of facilitating greater efficiency in the provision of appropriate services by financial planners and financial advisers in response to consumer needs and demands as well as to pave the way for greater convergence in the financial planning industry. I would strongly encourage financial planners licensed by the Securities Commission to take advantage of the opportunity to apply for a financial adviser licence or become a financial adviser’s representative through this greenlane approval process and expand your current business scope. Some of the measures implemented earlier to promote the development of financial advisers include facilitating the transformation of the tied agency force into financial advisers’ representatives by allowing tied agents to continue receiving renewal commissions during the transition period of five years. These measures are indeed a reflection of Bank Negara Malaysia’s serious effort and commitment to continuously promote the development of financial advisers as a new distribution channel for financial products and services. Moving forward, the financial services intermediary sector which includes financial advisers, would be gradually deregulated and liberalized to pave the way for self-regulation with the expectation of continuous improvement in service standards. We believe that professional pride and aspiration of intermediaries such as financial advisers will provide the necessary self-discipline to ensure orderly development of the sector. In this regard, Bank Negara Malaysia and the Securities Commission are working together with key industry players in formulating a workable self-regulatory regime for the financial advisory and planning industries.