muhammad bin ibrahim : migration to electronic payments keynote address by mr muhammad bin ibrahim, deputy governor of the central bank of malaysia, at the payment system forum 2013 “ migration to electronic payments ”, kuala lumpur, 9 december 2013. * * * it is my pleasure to welcome all of you to the payment system forum 2013 organized by bank negara malaysia in collaboration with the association of banks in malaysia ( abm ) and the association of islamic banking institutions malaysia ( aibim ). overview of the payment system forum the objectives of the payment system forum are : • firstly, to build greater awareness amongst the business community on the wide range of electronic payment solutions available in the market ; and • secondly, to showcase experiences by businesses who have successfully migrated to, and are reaping the benefits of, electronic payments. besides featuring presentations by banks and payment system professionals, and the sharing of experiences by businesses, i am pleased to announce that the payment system forum has also brought together 27 exhibitors. the exhibitors comprise representatives of banks, payment service providers and government agencies who will showcase their electronic payment solutions. members of the business community are encouraged to visit the exhibition booths located outside of this auditorium and sign - up to the latest offers. enhancing malaysia ’ s payment system infrastructure an efficient, reliable and secure payment system is critical to the stability of a country ’ s financial system, besides contributing to a country ’ s economic growth and competitive position. in this regard, bank negara malaysia has constantly strived to improve the payment system infrastructure in this country. payment system efficiency has contributed towards making malaysia a competitive and efficient economy. cheque truncation bank negara ’ s effort in improving the payment infrastructure has been continuous. a significant milestone was achieved in 2009 when the e - spick system, an image - based cheque - clearing system was introduced. this modernized cheque processing in malaysia. in essence, e - spick is a cheque truncation system which converted paper - based processing to electronic processing of cheques. physical cheques are no longer sent to the issuing bank and the cheque clearing center for processing. instead, images of cheques are sent electronically. cheques which previously took up to 8 business days to clear ( or t + 8 ) can now be cleared within 2 business days ( or t + 2 ). this was done at a time when the country ’ s broadband penetration rate was low at 32 % compared to 67 % today. the move to transmit cheques

the restructuring of non - performing loans ( npls ) of smes with on - going businesses. the sme facilities available at bank negara malaysia link will greatly increase the outreach capabilities of the sme special unit. ladies and gentlemen, as the financial system becomes more developed and sophisticated, there needs to be increased financial literacy. as part of our financial sector master plan, we have implemented a 10 - year programme to increase consumers'financial literacy. we are now in the third year of the programme. the effective participation by the public in the financial system needs to be an informed participation. there needs to be better understanding of the consumer's financial rights and responsibilities, the opportunities and the associated risks and costs. bank negara malaysia link through its exhibitions, interactive information kiosks and booklets, will serve as a channel to provide consumer financial education to the public. in this connection, bank negara malaysia link will provide information relating to conventional and islamic banking, insurance and takaful, smes, foreign exchange administration, central credit reference information system ( ccris ), biro maklumat cek, development financial institutions, and other financing related matters. bank negara malaysia link would also attend to public complaints on the above matters. as part of efforts to preserve the history on bank negara malaysia's role in nation building, bank negara malaysia link also includes a section on the bank's contribution in shaping the country's economy and financial sector since the 1950s. ladies and gentlemen, the establishment of bank negara malaysia link takes the central bank's public outreach programme to a higher level. by providing a centralised platform for the public to seek information and address financial issues, it is our hope that bank negara malaysia link will be instrumental in building bridges between consumers, including smes, the financial business community, consumer associations and policymakers. we believe in the importance of this outreach effort not only because the public has a right to an informed participation in their financial dealings, but also because it is also an important part of our collective and combined efforts that will determine the success of our endeavours. tuan - tuan dan puan - puan, akhir sekali, saya ingin mengucapkan berbanyak - banyak terima kasih kepada yang amat berhormat perdana menteri atas kesudian beliau melancarkan bank negara malaysia link.