this of course means having to obtain those details from the recipient ( who mightn ’ t even remember them ) and then keying in all the details correctly. this probably does not meet the “ ease of use ” test. overseas experience might give us some guide on this issue. for example we know that the united states is putting a lot of emphasis on pre - paid cards for government payments, although this no doubt in part reflects the country ’ s high number of unbanked welfare recipients. on the other side of the atlantic, the uk ’ s faster payments system provides a closely watched example of improving the timeliness of payments. of course the strategic review is intended to be forward looking. so we should be asking, not just about the demand for these sorts of improvements, but also the extent to which likely developments could meet that demand over the next few years. these questions might also lead to a focus on the constraints that the major banks ’ own internal systems place on their capacity to provide faster payments. the decline of cheques the number of cheques written in australia has been declining by an average of 9 per cent per year over the past decade. over time, this is adding to unit costs. the result is that cheques, which were already an expensive form of payment, are becoming increasingly so. nonetheless, our consultations have reinforced the fact that cheque use remains entrenched in certain areas because it meets a number of specific needs. i have already mentioned bis central bankers ’ speeches several of these areas, including the ease with which cheques can be addressed to others and accompanied by additional information. they are also very suitable in face - to - face exchanges and for providing an element of financial control. any decision to move away from cheques ( and i ’ m not pre - judging the issue ) will be dependent on the industry ’ s capacity to develop suitable and equally convenient electronic alternatives. i ’ m aware that the industry is separately looking at this, but it seems appropriate that the payments system board should also be considering how the decline in cheques is addressed from a public interest perspective. in addition to these issues, there are a number of other things that we expect will come into consideration, whether as stand - alone topics or interwoven with other discussions. these include : mobile payments. there is already a lot of interest and activity in this area. the board ’ s main interest will be in determining whether there are impediments to the development of mobile payments

amando m tetangco, jr : developing a new generation of savers with the program " banking on your future " speech by mr amando m tetangco, jr, governor of the central bank of the philippines ( bangko sentral ng pilipinas ), at the 16th anniversary of the central bank of the philippines, manila, 3 july 2009. * * * former bsp governor gabriel singson, monetary board members, our partners from the banking community, our guests from the aurora a. quezon elementary school, fellow central bankers, members of the media, special guests, good afternoon. on behalf of the monetary board, i thank all of you for joining us today as we celebrate the 16th anniversary of the bangko sentral ng pilipinas. with the signing of our agreements this afternoon, we are on track to institutionalize our economic and financial education program for filipino children. this program is important to us. we at the bangko sentral believe that persons literate in basic economic and financial concepts stand to benefit more from opportunities that development brings. and we believe that our elementary education system is the best place to start. with our memorandum of agreement with the department of education, lessons on saving and money management have been incorporated into the curriculum of 12 million public elementary students where 90 % of our elementary pupils study, beginning schoolyear 20082009. last week, the bangko sentral ng pilipinas signed a memorandum of agreement with the coordinating council of public educators association also for the inclusion of economic and financial concepts in private elementary school curriculum. today, the launching of this savings promotion program " banking on your future " brings the banking sector fully on board our financial education program for millions of filipino children. actually, we are looking at generating synergies from this program. we believe that saving as a habit can best be developed among schoolchildren who wield a strong influence in their homes and communities. through the children, therefore, we hope to reach out to their parents, including the unbanked. equally important, we believe that informed filipinos make for better partners in ensuring that we have a sound banking system and a more efficient transmission mechanism for our monetary policy actions. they also wise up to financial scams. in the process, they help sustain balanced economic growth. this is the philosophy that underpins our economic and financial education program. we all know how resilient we filipinos are. given the right tools, there is much more we