This is further complemented by the proliferation of payment cards, particularly electronic money, which enables banking and payment services to be conducted without a bank account or visits to traditional bank branches. According to data from the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor, or CGAP, there will be more than 120 mobile money schemes in developing countries by the end of 2009, more than double the number in 2008. CGAP estimates that by  BIS Review 162/2009  1  2012 some 1.7 billion people will have mobile phones but no bank account, and 20 percent will be using mobile money. A key challenge, to implement a commercially viable and workable mobile banking solution, especially where population density is low, is to achieve a critical mass of users required to reap economies of scale to keep transaction cost low. This is even more relevant if the aim is also to promote financial inclusion as financial services would have to be offered at affordable costs. Thus, a requirement for an open and interoperable mobile platform that facilitates the participation of many service providers and that offers a broad range of services is critical in developing a sustainable and efficient solution for both providers and users. The other type of branchless banking is the use of non-bank financial service providers, also referred to as Business Correspondents in certain jurisdictions.
As the Islamic financial community significantly grows in size, it is congruent that this enhanced Islamic finance platform being launched today has widened its outreach to the subscribers globally and from contributors of data and information from institutions around the world. To support this new enhanced Islamic finance platform, Bank Negara Malaysia and the other community members under the MIFC initiative is pleased to be one of the contributors. The MIFC page in the enhanced platform provides insights on Shariah, MIFC business opportunities and key developments. It also hosts the extensive network of Islamic financial community in Malaysia. On this note, I wish to congratulate Bloomberg, AIBIM, Bursa Malaysia and the many teams that worked on this initiative to serve the Islamic financial industry. 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches