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| News06.06.2008 The inaugural Mobile Digital Signature Symposium 2008, organized by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (SKMM), kicked off this week with a keynote speech by Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akthar Aziz, Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia, the central bank for Malaysia. Zeti said that electronic payments via mobile phones or the Internet can be one of the strategic tools to achieve better economic growth. "Electronic-based transactions", she said, "will also bring the bank to communities that have limited or no access to banks. Such communities would be brought into the formal financial system and into the economic mainstream. This would not only promote the opening of bank accounts among this target group but would also enable them to enjoy lower cost of financial services and better means of savings, thus benefiting the economy as a whole." Media coverage of the event recognizes that saving time and money aren’t the only benefits of electronic payments – they are also environmentally friendly. Online purchases and bill payments reduce consumption of paper and other resources. Zeti adds, "It provides the speed and convenience of making payments from anywhere and operating costs are reduced as less resources are used for handling cash and cheques." "Finally, for mobile payment products to succeed and achieve widespread acceptance, we need to strengthen consumer confidence in the safety, security and reliability of mobile networks as a means for consumers to access financial services. Indeed, mobile digital signature, which ensures the confidentiality, authenticity and integrity of payments initiated from mobile phones, is one of the ways forward towards building a secure mobile infrastructure that is conducive for the delivery of financial services." Mobile signatures, which are legally the same as handwritten signatures, are used for any signing purpose. Some non-financial applications include signing tax forms, permits, prescriptions and other documents. The security and convenience of your mobile signature enables you to extend and control your identity from anywhere. Juha Mitrunen, co-founder of Valimo Wireless, presented at the event on the growing success of mobile signatures and is quoted in the article. A transcript of the keynote speech is available here on the Bank Negara Malaysia website.  Back to news topics
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