but one good thing is that majority of them own smartphones. with this, we knew that it was an opportune time to go all out on digitalisation of remittance services. the implementation, however, will be an uphill task because of the geographical barriers we face in east malaysia. to ensure we reach out to as many migrants as possible, we collaborated with the plantation companies and organised remittance talks and fairs in the plantations themselves. the participating banks facilitated the migrants to open bank accounts ; and remittance service providers taught the migrants how to register and to use their e - remittance services. we also encouraged the plantation companies to pay the migrants ’ salaries into their bank accounts to eliminate the use of cash for remittance transactions. of course, digitalisation would not work without good internet connections. we, therefore, engaged malaysian communications and multimedia commission ( mcmc ) on possibility of boosting internet connections in the areas where we held the greenback activities. with digitalisation, migrants can now send money home anywhere, anytime. this eliminates the need to travel great distance to the nearest town, which 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches can be costly and risky at times. the project team experienced first - hand the numerous logistical challenges just to get into the plantations. a single journey can take about a 3 - hour drive from town. today, i am happy to note that project greenback in sabah has produced encouraging results. we have sensitised close to 5, 000 individuals. more than 1, 600 of them have registered to use e - remittance channels. a total of rm6. 9 million equivalent worth of remittances were sent from sabah using echannels. the most encouraging result is that average remittance cost in sabah has reduced significantly, to below 3 %. 8 months ago, it was much higher. although there is much to be done to increase the numbers, the outcomes are testament that our hard work and perseverance have paid off. we have reached an important milestone and this tells us that technology can be the gateway to financial inclusion. technology has the potential to be a game changer. industry players need to step up to next level to enhance consumer experience the project greenback initiative in sabah will lay a strong foundation for industry players to take the digitalization agenda to the next level. we must remember that disruptive technologies can radically change the way things are done. the old ways may not work

zeti akhtar aziz : the global islamic financial services industry speech by dr zeti akhtar aziz, governor of the central bank of malaysia, at the launch of kuwait finance house research, dubai, 14 may 2007. * * * let me first of all congratulate kuwait finance house on the establishment of the kuwait finance house research. it is my great pleasure and honour to officiate its launch. the establishment of this research entity is timely to meet the more intense demands of operating in a dynamic and highly competitive environment where new challenges and opportunities are continuously emerging in this era of globalisation and change. in the recent five years, there has been a rapid evolution and expansion of the global islamic financial services industry. islamic finance has now been accepted as a viable and competitive mode of financial intermediation, not only in muslim countries but also beyond the muslim world, which offers a wide range of financial products and services to meet the highly differentiated demands of the new economy. the continued progression in the economic and financial landscape has presented many opportunities for new products, services and innovations. with the accelerating pace of financial integration, financial institutions are presented with prospects to expand beyond domestic borders to capture opportunities from regional and global markets. nevertheless, these opportunities cannot be fully realised without sound research and development efforts. successful financial services players must leverage on expertise and knowledge 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. the overall islamic financial system, comprising financial institutions, markets and the financial infrastructure, has demonstrated its viability and robustness as a form of financial intermediation. its growing role in mobilising and channelling funds to productive investment activities across borders brings significant benefits to global economy. building stronger financial markets and greater intermediation through knowledge sharing especially, forms an important part of this process to facilitate greater international and investment flows. much in the same way that national strategies are developed to remain competitive in the new, knowledge - based economy in a globalised environment, institutions in the public, private or non - profit sectors, have come to recognise that " knowledge " can play an important role in enhancing the effectiveness of their operations. in addition to investments in human capital and leveraging on the role information technology, considerable attention has been devoted to harnessing the explicit and tacit knowledge they posses. ladies and gentlemen, i have previously made two references to