to further intensify efforts to encourage consumers and businesses to use the electronic payments systems. promotional programmes and greater consumer education activities also have to be escalated to promote confidence in internet transactions and the use of electronic means of payments. the need to build up consumer awareness is essential in an environment that is becoming increasingly challenging and complex. consumers need to be informed and convinced that the payment infrastructure is safe, efficient and reliable, and that there is an adequate consumer protection mechanism for consumers to be able to confidently use and enjoy the advantages of a low cost and effective payment system. one of the main challenges is to combat fraud. the rising incidences of internet - based identity theft and phishing scams globally require the banks to remain vigilant about the possible security risks and employ effective security measures and internal procedures to protect their customers. banks should remain one step ahead in this endeavour. in this regard, i wish to congratulate the banking institutions for completing the chip - based atm cards migration, and introducing emv - compliant credit cards and terminals to combat fraud, a technology leap that was indeed a challenging task. while the conversion of the credit card infrastructure to be emv - compliant is an ongoing effort, i wish to commend the industry players, the issuers, acquirers and the affected merchants, particularly the petrol industry, for their positive response towards meeting the migration deadline. ladies and gentlemen, the desired migration to an electronic payments environment will not only be engineered through secured system architecture and active promotional programmes, but also induced by greater transparency. banks need to be more transparent in the delivery and pricing of financial services, and highlight the underlying motivation and activities that banks undertake in prescribing financial services. pricing will affect consumers ’ preference and behaviour. in this regard, banks need to understand their own cost structure and price the payment services accordingly, to provide the incentive for the shift to electronic payments to take place. to foster greater efficiency in the payments system, its charges relative to other means of payments need to be structured accordingly to encourage greater use of the electronic channels as the preferred mode. these moves also need to be complemented with ample provision of electronic payment methods that are comparable to the other means of payments in terms of its reach and convenience. ladies and gentlemen, bank negara malaysia attaches great importance to payment system efficiency and will also continue to promote its security, reliability and efficiency, together with the industry and payment service providers, to foster an innovative payments industry. the fp

, the profit sharing and risk sharing characteristics in islamic finance strengthen the incentives for the financial institutions to ensure the profits are commensurate with the risks being assumed. it is this form of finance that we would want to encourage. with this underlying foundations, efforts are being directed to build the domestic financial infrastructure. a challenge that is being specifically addressed is the development of an active secondary global sukuk market. in this regard, there has been a lack of trading in the secondary market especially in the usd sukuk market as the investors tend to buy - and - hold the instruments until maturity. this is largely due to the scarcity of the instruments in the market. in malaysia, the growing ringgit sukuk market has resulted in an active secondary market. this is largely due to the regular and varied issuances throughout the year. this is supported by the investment in research and development and in talent development to ensure the availability of expertise in the structuring of sukuk instruments and in sukuk documentation. having the potential to innovate new instruments will depend on having the necessary talent. this is an area of focus in malaysia to develop the skills, expertise and capability. the islamic financial system in malaysia now offers a wide range of financial products and services that are competitive and able to meet the changing requirements of the domestic and global economy. way forward for the global islamic financial system as we advance forward, we need to recognise the forces of change and the transformation taking place in the international financial system and global economy. relentless efforts have been initiated to reform the international financial system by the international community to address the weaknesses that have contributed to the recent crisis. in this environment, islamic finance needs to continue to evolve to remain effective and competitive. the islamic financial system does not exist in isolation and will continue to develop as an integral part of the global financial system. as part of efforts to ensure sustainability in this new and more challenging environment, a task force on islamic finance and global financial stability was formed by the islamic development bank ( idb ) and the islamic financial services board ( ifsb ). the report, which was completed in april this year, sets out eight areas that need to be further strengthened to bring the islamic financial system to a higher level of performance in this new economic and financial order that is emerging. a recommendation of the report is the establishment of an islamic financial stability forum ( ifsf ) based at the ifsb as a strategic platform for productive dialogues to promote