Although each plan is different in their rationales and implementation, their intended outcomes can be summarized along three key dimensions – (1) to reduce cost of financial services for households and businesses (2) to deepen financial inclusion and (3) to facilitate financial connectivity in the region. Allow me to delve into some details. Starting with reducing costs of financial services. As the Thai economy can no longer compete on supply of cheap labors, cost competitiveness in other areas are critical. In light of this objective, the Financial Sector Master Plan and the Payment System Roadmap envisage  that cost savings in the financial sector due to more efficient operation of financial institutions and the payment system would be passed on to the real sector and the households. Here, I would like to note that the term financial institutions go beyond banks and finance companies to include non-bank players like e-Payment service providers and FinTech (Financial Technology) firms as well. 3/5  BIS Central Banker's Speeches  The Bank of Thailand believes that the very foundation for improved financial services’ efficiency is through the adoption of digital technology and shared infrastructure. The former comprises digitization of operations, product offerings and service channels. An example of the shared services initiatives is the PromptPay system, the Minister of Finance mentioned in the speech. PromptPay is an integrated retail fund transfer system that will allow  individuals, businesses, and government to transfer funds across service providers at low costs with ease, flexibility and resilience.
Asset quality also began to show initial signs of deterioration as would be expected given the fall in property prices and the increased strain put upon the cash flow of the affected companies and their employees. BIS Review 32/2003  1  From mid-May however the operating environment of the banks improved as SARS was brought under control. It would be premature to say that the SARS effect has dissipated entirely. In particular, the full effects on asset quality may take some time to show through. But most of the banks that we have talked to are now saying that the impact of the specific factor of SARS on their results for 2003 is expected to be relatively mild. However, the underlying problems in the economy, which SARS helped to magnify, are still with us. Thus, while the balance sheets of the banks remain strong, the earnings outlook for 2003 remains uncertain; and the banks continue to face a number of challenges. One of these is the state of the property market. The heavy reliance of the banks on property lending is well known: residential mortgage lending, in particular, accounts for 35% of the total domestic loans of the retail banks. Property prices have fallen sharply since the Asian Crisis, and the effect of SARS was to produce a further downward spiral. In the three months from March to May, property prices are estimated to have fallen by 8%.