) ; effective collaboration that breaks away from working in silos ; and an appropriate level of risk - taking that is compatible with a more agile and responsive organisation. and so we have taken pains to be specific and deliberate in our approach to building a digital culture within the bank. this starts with being clear across the organisation on our tolerance for higher risks associated with disruptive innovations – through the development and communication of our digital risk appetite. we are shifting conversations on new digital initiatives away from the technical solutions themselves, to a greater focus on the business process transformations that they are intended to serve, and that is what we measure and track. we are also investing heavily in equipping our people with the knowledge, skills and confidence to make sound judgment calls in an environment where the pace of change is occurring at a dizzying speed, and our ability to anticipate risks is likely to be more constrained. at a practical level, this means being more precise about escalation, decision and communication protocols, while allowing more flexibility in internal policies to allow business lines to respond swiftly to emerging situations. it also means allowing more dynamic structures to evolve within the organisation to support specific strategic business use cases, such as our cloud centre of excellence. in an era of disruption, efforts to reduce the complexity of financial products and services to the average person could become more challenging. a key reason for this is the dramatically increased access to financial solutions for people from every walk of life, whether they are suited for them or not. to reap the promise that such access brings of opportunities to reduce inequality and improve standards of living, it is imperative that individuals are sufficiently confident and capable of making wise financial decisions. this brings me to the fourth strategic priority of the bank – which is building financial capability among the malaysian public to navigate opportunities and risks in the changing financial landscape. it has long been our conviction that encouraging a population that is both financially and digitally literate is a necessary and vital condition to harness the full potential of fintech and contain its risks. to that end, the government recently launched malaysia ’ s national strategy for financial literacy which includes a specific focus on helping consumers protect themselves against fraud and exploitation, and embrace innovation more confidently in the digital era. in the area of remittances, our work to improve conditions for the use of formal remittance channels by leveraging on technology, particularly by workers and small businesses across the country, has led to substantial reductions in the cost of remittances.

also doubled our approved headcount for it supervision to ensure that we continue to provide adequate coverage of technology risks in the financial system in our supervisory activities. second, the bank has sought to encourage a more nimble response to innovation in the financial sector. along with a number of other regulators, the bank introduced its regulatory sandbox in 2016 to enable firms to test innovative solutions in actual production with appropriate safeguards, while suitable regulation that is fit - for - purpose is developed. at a practical level, this has led to important changes in the way the bank works, leveraging on “ agile ” teams where small, crossfunctional and dynamic groups are formed to observe, gather feedback, efficiently assess and formulate regulation iteratively. since its establishment, over 80 solutions have been evaluated for testing in the sandbox. of this, about a quarter have piloted or are preparing to pilot their solutions in the sandbox, with some already having graduated to offer their solutions in the broader financial system. the insights gained have led to adaptations of existing regulations as well as the development of new frameworks for firms that exit the sandbox. they have also informed the bank ’ s thinking on regulating innovation, with lessons taken in the development of the digital bank framework which will be issued for consultation very shortly. the idea of the sandbox has since been replicated internally within the bank as an avenue for staff to prototype new solutions that will improve the way the bank works. this includes new technological applications in regulation and supervision, surveillance, data analytics, communications and in the delivery of the bank ’ s public services. the third imperative has been to ensure alignment in the bank ’ s governance and culture with our digital objectives and priorities. at the bank, we are keenly minded that it ’ s the people and the risk culture, or “ the way we do things around here ” that ultimately matters. 2 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches this arguably remains the most difficult part of our journey. digitalisation is driving disruption, and the digital world is inherently complex – in its logic, design, development and delivery. we have put in place strengthened and more integrated governance arrangements to direct our digital strategy, policy and standards. at the same time, we recognise that our digital goals and aspirations can only be achieved through the values and behaviours of staff that promote inclusivity ( between those that have technological skills and those that don ’ t ) ; accountability ( that is, the effective and responsible use of technology