. rather than delivering on its vast promise, digitalisation could instead become a polarising and divisive instrument. take the provision of online credit, for example, the use of algorithm - based online credit scoring tools have led in some cases to assessments that are gender - biased, with female candidates consistently assigned lower credit scores compared to male counterparts of equal financial standing. behaviourally, there is in fact evidence in malaysia and likely elsewhere, to suggest that the opposite is true. we can and must do better. proportionate laws and regulations must be in place to hold financial service providers accountable for establishing effective safeguards against the theft or abuse of personal data, and discrimination or unfair practices. the focus on consumer protection needs to shift from just addressing customer touchpoints, to the consideration of consumer needs much earlier in the product design process, in the formulation of distribution strategies or in the setting of risk limits. predictive models used for decision - making must be subject to regular reviews against consumer outcomes and redress channels need to be aligned with the digital experience. indeed, we should be concerned that while the delivery of financial products and services is taking on increasingly digital dimensions, when something goes wrong, processes for consumers to seek redress are still heavily manual in nature. as for financial education, i am reminded of the old adage by sir francis bacon : “ reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, writing an exact man ”. today ’ s digital consumer – at least many of them – has neither the patience nor time to read, confer or write. in fact, this is almost the entire premise of digital financial solutions – brevity, speed and convenience. the short attention spans of financial consumers are further constrained by an overload of information and misinformation. digital solutions that can efficiently deliver financial education to masses of people, while simultaneously providing capabilities to tailor knowledge and information to one ’ s personal circumstances ( such as through loan affordability calculators ), have gained increasing traction. however, the fact that digital interventions are more cost - efficient, accessible and scalable, do not automatically make them any more effective than more traditional interventions in the past that have failed to achieve a consistent and lasting impact in changing behaviour. we need to develop reliable insights into behavioural influences that may help or prevent consumers from making good financial decisions. this sounds simple in theory, but is as complex as an understanding of human psychology itself. as our understanding evolves, the solutions that work

zeti akhtar aziz : reflections on small and medium sized enterprises keynote address by dr zeti akhtar aziz, governor of the central bank of malaysia, at the 7th conference of asia - pacific economic cooperation ( apec ) financial institutions dealing with smes, lanai kijang, 16 july 2010. * * * introduction this conference takes place at a time of great consequence for the financial industry as the world emerges from the recent global financial and economic crisis. attention continues to be focused on supporting this recovery process and to provide more permanent solutions that would ensure sustainable global growth. in relation to this, the development of small and medium sized enterprises ( smes ) is an important and urgent agenda. for emerging economies, in particular in the apec region, this is not only important as a driver of the economic growth process but also that it would achieve a more balanced growth. it is my pleasure to be here this morning to speak at this 7th conference of apec financial institutions dealing with smes, that is organised by the association of banks in malaysia. history has shown that in the 20th century, it was large corporations that drove economic progress ; particularly in the industrial economies. in this century, there is a discernible shift towards the increased importance of smes as drivers of growth. the growing importance of domestic demand and the emergence of new sources of growth and new business models have encouraged the emergence of small and medium size businesses. this trend is particularly pronounced in the apec economies in which the economic activities are now more diversified – with the growing importance of the services sector, with the agricultural sector becoming more advanced and the industrial sector being supported by a supply chain of small and medium scale businesses. in the apec region, smes account for 90 % of the total business establishments and 60 % of total employment. in malaysia, smes constitute 99 % of all businesses and 57 % of total employment. in terms of output, the sme sector in malaysia accounts for 35 % of gross domestic product and 20 % of total exports. the smes have the advantage of having greater flexibility and the ability to adjust more quickly to changes in the market. the smes also have the potential to meet the new challenges to raise productivity and performance. there is therefore enormous potential for smes to create significant positive value for the economy, and thus contribute towards sustainable and balanced economic growth, employment and social stability. this morning allow me to take this opportunity to share with you some reflections on sm