and seamlessly pay our bills online, without having to : • fill in our card details for the umpteenth time ; or bis central bankers ’ speeches • fill out lengthy paper - based giro forms to authorise standing payment instructions which take weeks to be approved. our vision is to create a bill payment experience where consumers and businesses can : • electronically apply for giro bill payments ; • seamlessly pay bills via a “ request for payment ” function that leverages off fast fund transfers without needing to bank with the same bank as the biller ; and • manage their standing payment instructions online or on their mobile phones. mas is working with the banks and the payments industry to create seamless bill payments and collections. mobile payments for public transport – account - based ticketing the way we pay for public transport is also due for a refresh. the land transport authority has recently announced that by the end of this year, it will be conducting a pilot for its account - based ticketing system. • this system will allow commuters to use their existing contactless credit and debit cards to pay for train and bus rides. • no longer will users have to queue to top - up their stored value transit cards. • users will even be able to use their mobile wallets to pay for public transport. an account - based ticketing system will bring singapore in line with other cities with worldclass public transport payment infrastructure such as london. pervasive digitisation – maximising productivity gains from e - payments the fourth strategy is to help businesses to digitise their processes and integrate them with electronic payments solutions, so as to maximise productivity and efficiency gains. minister iswaran spoke yesterday about how government agencies are working with smes to help digitise their business processes and take advantage of e - payments. i need not elaborate. i will just give an example. • it often does not make sense, especially for an sme, to adopt an e - payment solution or platform but continue to use paper invoices. • reconciliation of paper invoices with e - payments becomes a challenge, and the potential efficiency gains from e - payments will remain elusive. • only if the business processes from front - to - back are all digitised and integrated with e - payments, will it make commercial sense and raise productivity. conclusion let me conclude. this is a conference on fintech and financial inclusion. of all the developments in fintech, it is in payments where the gains in financial inclusion are

goh chok tong : strengthening singaporea€™s position as a leading financial centre in asia speech mr goh chok tong, senior minister and chairman of the monetary authority of singapore ( mas ), at the 2005 mas staff seminar, singapore, 29 november 2005. * * * let me begin by welcoming you to the 2005 mas staff seminar. it has been a busy but good year for the industry and mas. positive global and regional outlook 2. globally, 2005 looks set to end on a positive note. the imf has projected world economic growth of 4. 3 % this year and sees the potential for further growth next year. the us economy remains resilient. it has withstood progressive interest rate hikes and the devastation caused by hurricanes katrina and rita. while the oil market remains tight and the us current account and budget deficits continue to be cause for caution, the greenspan era should end positively. 3. asia is doing well. east asia's combined economy has been growing by an average of 3. 4 % per year between 2000 and 2004. take away japan, east asia's annual growth rate is even more impressive - 6. 4 %, well above the global average of 3. 8 %. east asian countries have accumulated massive foreign reserves and now account for nearly 60 % of global reserves. global investors looking for better returns have shown strong interest in asian equities, bonds and alternative investments. 4. the blockbusters in asia's growth story are china and india. i have spoken about them in some detail last year. china and india, fast becoming global economic powerhouses, offer immense opportunities for asia and the world. 5. but we should not overlook japan. it is, after all, still the second largest economy in the world. japan is experiencing renewed vigour after more than a decade of economic stagnation and deflation. earlier this month, i was in tokyo for the nomura singapore seminar. the political and business leaders i met exuded a strong sense of confidence that japan has turned the corner and is firmly on the path of sustained growth. asean is doing well 6. prospects for southeast asia have improved. despite the bali bombings, regional economies remained stable. unless there is an avian flu pandemic, we can expect asean countries to grow at a steady 5 % this year and next. 7. asean has been deepening and quickening the pace of integration. asean countries have agreed to form an