to be part of the global financial community. bank negara malaysia encourages and supports a strong culture of research and development in the financial services industry in malaysia in both the conventional and islamic finance. we believe that the encouragement and support is important to ensure a wider range of high quality financial products and services to meet the changing demands of a progressive and dynamic malaysian economy. towards this end, bank negara malaysia stands ready to extend our assistance in accessing the necessary statistics on broad market trends and developments, where appropriate, to support such research and development. the emergence of new delivery channels such as the internet and mobile phones have significantly altered the traditional banking - customer relationship. technological development has also transformed the payment systems industry, with the introduction of new payment instruments and entry of nonbanks into payment services, thus facilitating the migration to e - payments. additionally, we are among the first in the world to migrate, on a national basis, towards the use of chip - based atm, payment and identity cards. through greater research and development in understanding the customer's behavior and preferences, financial players can further capitalize on these insights to develop new and more innovative products and services as well as distribution channels to meet customer demand. in malaysia, the changing economic and financial landscape brings about many opportunities for new products and services. with the accelerating pace of financial integration, financial institutions are presented with opportunities to broaden beyond domestic borders to capture opportunities from regional markets. infact, we are acknowledged as being in the forefront globally in islamic banking and finance. but these opportunities cannot be fully seized without sound research and development work. successful financial services players must leverage on technological expertise to deliver superior products and services. the challenge is to enhance efficiency and reduce costs, respond to market and regulatory demands and, most of all, gain competitive advantage through innovative products and services. ladies and gentlemen, the success of this ibbm - university of nottingham collaboration will depend on the active involvement and support from the financial services industry. i therefore, encourage the industry to play a proactive role in supporting the activities organized by the financial services research forum. in concluding, i look forward to seeing greater collaborative efforts between the academia and the industry in research and development for the financial services industry. on this note, i am pleased to officially launch the collaboration between ibbm and the university of nottingham, in the financial services research forum. thank you.

alongside the private - sector system. commenters highlighted the importance of safety in faster payments and noted the federal reserve's record of resiliency, especially during periods of stress. commenters observed that a federal reserve real - time retail payment service would increase competition, decrease market concentration, and provide a neutral platform for innovation. this broad support echoes and expands on the conclusions of the faster payments task force. similarly, the u. s. treasury department recommended that " the federal reserve move quickly to facilitate a faster retail payment system, such as through the development of a real - time settlement service that would also allow for more efficient and widespread access to innovative payment capabilities. " 5 in determining the path forward, we are building on the federal reserve's long history of operating payment systems as a core part of the nation's payment infrastructure. since they opened for business around the country in 1914, as directed by the congress, the federal reserve banks have provided payment and settlement services — in healthy competition with private - sector providers — to achieve public benefits ranging from resiliency to innovation to equal access. when you look across the current payment infrastructure, whether in check processing, automated clearinghouse ( ach ) services, or funds transfers, you will see a federal reserve 1 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches service operating alongside private - sector providers. the general accountability office has concluded that the federal reserve's provision of payment services has benefited the u. s. payment system and its users. 6 the federal reserve does not have regulatory authority over the pricing set by a private - sector system or to require a private - sector system to extend the service to banks of all sizes, particularly the last mile. in some other countries, central banks have been assigned the responsibility for regulating payment systems. however, this is not the approach that congress has taken. instead, the federal reserve's role as an operator has long been seen as an effective approach to promote accessible, safe, and efficient payments in the united states. through the fednow service, we will provide a foundation for the future — a modern payment infrastructure that allows innovation and competition to flourish and delivers faster payments safely and securely for all. to ensure fast payments are available to everyone, fednow will be accessible to all banks, no matter the size. given our long - standing service connections with more than 10, 000 banks across the country, the federal reserve is uniquely placed to deliver this outcome. the bar is high when we assess whether the federal