stabilisation cooperative society and the central finance co - operative society ). i would imagine that there is need for a strong institution capable of providing liquidity and investment support as well as training and various forms of technical assistance to individual credit unions. moreover, in order to help the credit unions compete on broadly similar terms as the banks, for instance, one may also need to give thought to a deposit insurance and a complaints mechanism for the credit unions, similar to the deposit insurance corporation and the financial services ombudsman scheme. these are just some preliminary thoughts which would need to be developed in greater detail and refined. i am aware that there is ongoing work to strengthen the present co - operatives act. this is important and the new provisions should be complementary and not overlap with any new credit union legislation. to provide credibility to this regulatory approach there would need to be a process of intense dialogue between all the stakeholders – the ministries of finance and labour and co - operatives ; the credit union movement ; the credit union co - operative league ; and the central bank. the role of the ministry of labour vis - a - vis the credit unions in particular and the co - operative movement in general will need to be clearly defined. it is my view that the ministry could still have an important developmental role. there would also need to be a role for the credit union league in helping to prepare its membership for the new regulatory environment. i hope that these ideas contribute something to the ongoing debate about how to preserve the ideals of the credit union movement, help the movement adapt to and thrive in the rapidly changing financial environment, whilst we administer effective supervision to maintain a strong and robust financial system. i also want to underscore, contrary to the views that have been expressed in the media, the central bank recognizes the important contribution that credit unions have made to our society. the central bank also expects the credit union movement to continue to play a critical role in our diversified financial sector. we feel strongly, however, that to achieve this, more robust regulation and supervision are urgently needed. let me end by again thanking the eastern credit union for inviting me. i trust that with your commitment and team spirit you will continue to lead the way to positive change.

muhammad bin ibrahim : developing a safe and secure electronic payment ecosystem to promote financial inclusion speech by mr muhammad bin ibrahim, deputy governor of the central bank of malaysia ( bank negara malaysia ), at the regulatory forum for the asia pacific region : “ developing a safe and secure electronic payment ecosystem to promote financial inclusion ”, kuala lumpur, 4 august 2014. * * * ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to be here today to deliver the keynote speech for mastercard ’ s regulatory forum for the asia pacific region with the theme “ developing a safe and secure electronic payment ecosystem to promote financial inclusion ”. with 2. 5 billion people across the world still unbanked, financial inclusion is a significant global agenda to ensure that all segments of the society, including the most vulnerable groups, have access and usage of quality and affordable financial services. this forum, which brings together regulators, international financial institutions and other payment system stakeholders, is an important platform to surface and exchange ideas on emerging trends, risks and opportunities in the use of cost - effective electronic payment system to drive financial inclusion. over the years, bank negara malaysia has taken many measures in promoting financial inclusion and in accelerating the country ’ s migration to electronic payments ( e - payments ). i will share some of my thoughts on the key areas in the payment value chain that could drive and expand the financial inclusion agenda via e - payments. measures taken by bank negara malaysia to promote financial inclusion since its inception in 1959, getting the public to have access to financial services has always been a focus area for bank negara malaysia. in the central bank of malaysia act 2009, financial inclusion has also been legislated as one of bank negara malaysia ’ s primary functions. bank negara malaysia has designed the development of a diversified financial system which meets the needs of various consumers and businesses. many efforts were implemented. for example, to facilitate ease of access to bank accounts, bank negara malaysia has introduced basic banking service, a no frills and low cost savings account. on the financing side, the pembiayaan mikro framework was established in 2006 to facilitate the provision of uncollateralised micro financing by financial institutions in a fast, easy and convenient manner. the central bank has also focused on strengthening the enabling infrastructure through the establishment of the credit guarantee corporation ( cgc ) to provide credit guarantees to enable smes with limited collateral and track record to have access to financing. since its establishment in 1972, cgc