lars nyberg : time to change cash to cards? speech by mr lars nyberg, deputy governor of the sveriges riksbank, at the 9th annual nordic card markets conference, stockholm, 20 january 2010. * * * more often than not, the riksbank is associated with the objective of maintaining price stability, which is usually interpreted as attaining a low and stable level of inflation. however, we also have another objective, namely promoting a safe and efficient payment system. what this means in practice is less obvious, but our entire responsibility for financial stability, which has undoubtedly been in focus over the last 12 months, in fact rests on this wording in the current legislation. this task includes promoting the development of safe and efficient payments. this is why we take an interest in cards and cash and it is also why i am here today. the riksbank ’ s responsibility for the payment system also includes having the sole right to issue notes and coins. this may seem self - evident today, but it has not always been the case. up until the early 1900s, the private banks were entitled to issue notes under the supervision of the riksbank. the view of what the riksbank should do and what private market players are expected to be responsible for has thus developed over time. up until only a few years ago, the riksbank was also responsible for the storage and, partly, the distribution of notes and coins throughout the country. this phase has now been taken over by the banks in line with the model in other countries and the riksbank is only responsible for the wholesale phase. developments in the field of payments can be viewed in a similar way. as long as payments are made using notes and coins it is the riksbank that guarantees the confidence of the means of payment. however, as an increasing number of payments are made using cards, this role is increasingly becoming the responsibility of the banks and card companies. it is against this background that i intend today to speak about the riksbank ’ s view of the development of safe and efficient payments, what we are doing in our area of responsibility and what we hope various private players will do. the payment behaviour of the swedes swedes increasingly use cards to make payments. over the last ten years, the value of the card payments made has increased fivefold, while the number of card payments made has increased eightfold. for couple of years now, the value of the card payments made has also exceeded

finding solutions to emerging new shariah issues that require immediate responses from the shariah fraternity. to me, changes in the islamic financial landscape should be viewed as a golden opportunity for the shariah experts to demonstrate the dynamism of the islamic religion as perpetually modern and evolving through time. therefore, it is my hope that the role of the shariah scholars could be further enhanced and not confined solely to only ensuring and monitoring the shariah compliance aspects. in relation to this, i am also of the opinion that researches and thorough deliberations on shariah need to consider other fields of disciplines in order for the ijtihad ( reasoning ) or shariah decisions to be comprehensive, inclusive and practical. this will become increasingly important when it involves strategies and positioning of the “ ummah ” in the economic sector. shariah assessments that include input and findings of multiple disciplines as well as variations of insights will provide more added values to a particular shariah research. this effort can be implemented through active involvement of professionals in the bis central bankers ’ speeches process of researching shariah issues. i am confident that through this approach, we will be able to formulate a collective ijtihad that is comprehensive, in comparison to ijtihad that is peripheral and exclusive. in the malaysian context, we have decided to encourage the combined expertise and experience between shariah members and professionals through the shariah committees of islamic financial institutions. in fact, we also encourage qualified shariah scholars to be appointed as members of board of directors at islamic financial institutions, specifically to form a “ bridge ” or point of connection between the board and the shariah committee members, and to allow them to gain greater exposure to the operational situation in the management of islamic financial institutions. the process of knowledge sharing and discussions on shariah as well as on other realms of islamic knowledge among the board members of a particular financial institution will enrich the justifications of a particular deliberation before a decision is made. another key aspect is the importance of shariah scholars to thoroughly understand the impact of ijtihad on the growth of the islamic finance industry and society at large. every ijtihad should always be geared towards fostering harmony and not widening the differential gaps. if a gap exists even in the matter of perception, it may raise doubt and reduce the effectiveness of a shariah decision. in this context, the majority of the