among emerging economies. a rapid sequence of cuts ensued, dropping the policy rate from 10 % in november 2008 to 4. 5 % in june 2009. a key component of the policy reaction was the flexibility of the exchange rate. this was possible because currency mismatches were small and inflation expectations remained partially anchored despite the large shocks to the price of food, energy and raw materials. exchange rate flexibility was fundamental in many senses. first, it enabled us to avoid the need to follow the pro - cyclical monetary policies of the past. second, it worked as an absorber of the shocks hitting the current account of the balance of payments ( terms of trade, export demand and workers ’ remittances ). and third, it prevented dollar demand pressures that liquidity - thirsty global financial institutions would have exerted under a peg regime. in summary, in the last quarter of 2008 our economies underwent a rapid transition from a supply shock situation to a global financial crisis and a world recession. my take from the colombian experience is that, as a regime, the inflation targeting framework with financial stability complements has fared well and done the best possible job of withstanding the storm. this was mostly due to the fact that the financial stability measures taken before the crisis, when the economy was booming, enabled us to avoid large mismatches and to moderate leverage. the results were : - the financial system was strong enough to absorb a large external shock and policy makers could focus on dealing with its macroeconomic consequences. - the regime was flexible enough to accommodate a gradual path of disinflation under a preannounced path after the relative price shocks pushed inflation far above target. - at the same time, this flexibility allowed the central bank to maintain the liquidity of the financial system in a period of stress. our challenge ahead consists of carefully examining our financial regulatory framework to shore up some aspects such as countercyclical provisioning and bank capital requirements. simultaneously, we must strive to enhance financial deepening and enlarge the set of financial instruments available to colombian firms and households. however, we must do so without significantly increasing systemic risk or depriving policymakers of the tools they need to face shocks. in such a task, difficult tradeoffs must be made, most importantly, perhaps, the one between the financial integration of the colombian economy and the scope for systemic risk and macroeconomic management.

in many emerging economies, income inequality is a significant cause of economic and social instability and could lead to widespread support of populist policies. unbanked and underserved people need to have access to financial services, which can help them raise their standards of living. emergence of fintech and techfin firms, along with their diverse platforms, can offer more targeted financial products at lower costs and improve financial access, especially to the underserved people. ladies and gentlemen, to fulfil these three key imperatives, the bank of thailand has taken on various initiatives during the past few years : on boosting productivity, we have many exciting projects underway. last year, the bank of thailand together with the ministry of finance and the thai bankers ’ association launched the promptpay faster payment infrastructure. with promptpay, funds can be transferred to a recipient ’ s preferred bank account in real time and at virtually no cost. promptpay provides a crucial payment infrastructure, which helps propel a wider adoption of e - payment. currently, there are almost 43 million registered user accounts and over 3 million transactions per day. the increasing usage of promptpay also served as a catalyst that led all banks in thailand to eliminate electronic fund transfer fees for online retail transactions. besides, being a common infrastructure, promptpay has also paved ways for many other digital payment features, including cross - bank bill payment, request - to - pay as well as e - donation services. another initiative to promote digital payment services is the standardized qr code. launched in collaboration with the five major global payment card network providers, thailand ’ s standardized qr code for payment allows acceptance of common qr code for e - payment on any platforms regardless of merchants ’ and consumers ’ service providers. its interoperability has led to remarkable speed of adoption ; in less than one year since its launch, qr code payment is accepted by over 2 million merchants all over thailand. more importantly, having common standards would improve competition and innovation, as they allow easy market entry for all players, especially small innovative players. ultimately, greater adoption of digital payment will 3 / 6 help facilitate the transformation from collateral - based lending to information - based lending for smes as their payment transactions information can be consolidated and analyzed. in addition, the bank of thailand also supports financial innovation through our regulatory sandbox. the sandbox serves as a platform for financial institutions and fintech firms to test new technologies and operating standards in a safe environment before