principles of islamic finance. however, they are not as visible and omnipresent as their conventional peers. the case is compelling for islamic finance to take on a more prominent role in the fintech ecosystem. the technology is ripe, with higher penetration of mobile and internet across markets. consumers are also becoming more and more tech - savvy. digital - banking consumers stand at an estimated 670 million in asia alone and are expected to reach 1. 7 billion by 2020. in malaysia, within a population of 31 million, there is high mobile and internet penetration rate at about 141 % and 81 % respectively. with a diverse population and a growing middle class, malaysia is an ideal test bed for developing and commercialising fintech solutions. the emergence of fintech has opened up new opportunities which can greatly benefit the financial industry. at its core, fintech has led to the creation of various business models that help improve and simplify financial transactions, which 10 or 20 years ago seemed impossible. here, i would like to highlight three key areas that islamic finance stand to gain from fintech. entrepreneurs too stand to gain from fintech. first, fintech provides the technological underpinnings to realise the goal of islamic finance in creating a risk sharing economy. this will in turn benefit entrepreneurs who will gain wider access to bank - intermediated credit. an example is the investment account platform ( iap ). iap is malaysia ’ s first multi - bank online 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches platform that combines the credit evaluation expertise of islamic banks and the power of technology to channel funds from investors to economic ventures. this virtual “ multisided ” platform facilitates a collection of interesting investment ventures and projects, with transparent risk - return rewards for investors. second, fintech has opened up new sources of funding to entrepreneurs, in what is increasingly being referred to as the alternative financing space. crowdfunding and peer - to - peer ( p2p ) funding platforms have emerged as highly efficient “ matchmakers ” between entrepreneurs and investors. from the usd10 million raised globally in 2009 through nine major platforms, crowdfunding platforms mobilised over usd767 million in 2016 with backers from over 200 countries. this has facilitated the growth of entrepreneurs by providing finance to about 1. 3 million crowdfunding projects. crowdfunding platforms also allow entrepreneurs to closely engage with their customers – themselves investors – to shape and refine product ideas. a good example is the role played by crowd

##ing population during their retirement years. malaysians today live longer and have fewer children. by the year 2020, the percentage of the population above the age of 60 years is estimated to more than double to 16 % of the population, from only 7 % in 2000. the demographic changes also have significant implications for healthcare financing. with the ageing population and medical inflation, total expenditure on healthcare has continued on an increasing trend. a large proportion of that is borne directly “ out - of - pocket ” by individuals, or by employers as part of employment benefits for staff. going forward, private pensions and health insurance will have an increasingly important role in supporting sustainable financing in the long term for retirement and healthcare. more malaysians are already turning to the private insurance industry to finance their healthcare expenditure. as a result, the medical and health insurance business has grown significantly in the last five years, averaging at an annual growth rate of close to 30 %. about 80 % of this business is written by life and composite insurers, mainly as riders to life insurance policies. similarly, a larger role for private pensions may be envisaged under the pension reform initiative. at the same time, there is also a growing awareness among malaysians of individual responsibility in financial planning. planning for retirement and healthcare needs are clearly among the most important of financial decisions, but sound financial planning also includes individuals protecting themselves and their dependents from financial vulnerabilities arising from death, disability or unemployment, providing for children ’ s education and as well as making sound investment choices. these developments present enormous opportunities for the life insurance industry, particularly given the large untapped market that still exists with less than 45 % of the population having a life insurance or family takaful policy. by the same token, however, they place equally important responsibilities on insurers to make sure that the products sold are suitable, that insurers have assets which match their liabilities ; and that customers are given enough information to enable them to make responsible decisions. to its credit, the insurance industry has taken important strides in rising to the challenges faced. generally, bank negara has been encouraged by the positive response of the industry to new regulations that further strengthen corporate governance and risk management standards and promote the fair treatment of consumers. of course, some companies have been more progressive than others in absorbing the regulatory principles within their companies. but overall, our supervisory interactions with the industry have shown that the industry as a whole has made good progress in lifting