task faced by most central banks. apart from ensuring cost effective and high quality currency notes and coins, it also requires accurate forecasts of the demand for currency notes and coins, which varies seasonally and with economic activity. the higher acceptance of electronic payment not only improves the economic efficiency of a country, but also allows substantial cost savings to be gained. studies have shown that widespread utilisation of electronic payment systems has the potential of contributing to at least 1 % of a country ’ s gdp annually. indeed, there are important potential benefits and scale effects that can be reaped from the realisation of the electronic payment agenda for individuals and businesses, as well as for the economy as a whole. thus, it is for all these reasons that bank negara malaysia has made the migration to electronic payments as one of its strategic results. while the acceptance of electronic payment is on the rise in malaysia, with electronic payment per capita doubling from 23 in 2005 to 41 in 2009, cash and cheques are still largely popular. hence, resource intensive and time consuming processes continue to exist in the payment value chain. as electronic payments are more economical for the society and, as part of the broader efforts to enhance malaysia ’ s long term national competitiveness, it is essential that costs arising from these inefficiencies are eliminated. an area that requires more attention moving forward, is the change in customers ’ behaviour and mindset. undoubtedly, it takes time and energy to withdraw cash, deposit cheques and reconcile cheque payments. however, there are segments of society who still prefer paper as they are so accustomed to paper and have always trusted paper instruments. thus, one of the greatest hurdles to accelerate the adoption of electronic payments is breaking longstanding habits and changing the behaviour of people. another important aspect in promoting greater adoption of electronic payments is the need to strengthen consumer confidence in the safety and security of the payment mechanism. recognising the important role of payment cards in the malaysian payment system and in the electronic payment agenda, bank negara malaysia spearheaded the migration from magnetic stripe to the chip - based card infrastructure on a national scale for both the atm and credit cards. this migration is also to counter fraud due to cloning, skimming or counterfeiting. we began with the atm card migration and by 2005, malaysia became the first country to fully migrate to the emv chip - based credit card infrastructure on a national scale. financial inclusion efforts and emphasis on accelerating the adoption of electronic payments would

local community. the importance of vision so far, my remarks have focused on the tangible aspects of planning and investment. but i do not want to leave out a critical element that is perhaps impossible to measure but underlies each of your undertakings. that element is vision. the washington post has reported that when joe horning walked through this theater eight years ago, he was surrounded by broken windows, rotted floor boards, and leaks in the roof. that ’ s what he saw. but what he envisioned was quite different. he envisioned a beautifully restored theater that would not only serve the community but, more important, also serve as a symbol that columbia heights could be revitalized. indeed, in the past eight years, that vision has been realized, with columbia heights today a vibrant and viable neighborhood. as in similar neighborhoods in the district of columbia and throughout the united states, there is much to celebrate in the results of community investments. the increase in street traffic and economic activity makes the neighborhood a livelier and safer place. property values are rising, and that allows homeowners here to experience the wealth - building power of homeownership that their peers in more - affluent areas have experienced for years. it also enables them to invest in the rehabilitation of their homes. this additional investment improves the look and feel of the entire neighborhood. of course, the higher home prices and rents that result from the increased desirability of this neighborhood also limit the availability of affordable housing. these pressures on the market are being felt here in the washington metropolitan area as well as in other expanding real estate markets. the question of gentrification in columbia heights was interestingly portrayed in the washington post earlier this month through the eyes of a pair of twelve - year old girls who have grown up in this neighborhood. the girls entered a citywide essay contest on gentrification, a word that they had not previously known, and observed very keenly the effects of the development going on around them. they noted their increased feeling of safety as they walked to and from school thanks to the rehabilitation of previously vacant rowhouses and the exciting new diversity of individuals living in their neighborhoods. but they also missed the friends whose families were forced to move out of the neighborhood when it became too expensive to stay. they were saddened by the loss of some of the smaller shops that will be replaced by larger retailers. in the end, the girls concluded that gentrification is a complicated issue, and its results are " not