KUALA LUMPUR: It is critical for a small and highly open economy such as Malaysia to have an efficient cross-border payment service to support trade and commerce with its neighbouring countries as well as all countries worldwide.

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) Governor Tan Sri Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus said the central bank is now pursuing multiple efforts on many fronts such as by linking DuitNow, its fast payment system, with ASEAN neighbours.

"This is a no brainer. Within Malaysia, DuitNow has enabled millions of individuals and businesses to transfer money instantly and seamlessly. So imagine if we could do the same for the whole region to make cross-border payments cheaper, faster, more transparent and accessible to all 600 million plus of us in the region. The economic impact can be significant.

"ASEAN economies are highly integrated, with intra-ASEAN trade accounting for the largest share of the total trade in ASEAN. So think about how this can bring about a change to help people and businesses in trade and travel," she said.

Nor Shamsiah said this during the casual talk session 1 at the Digital Economy and Finance Festival organised by Bank Indonesia themed, "Faster, Cheaper, More Transparent and More Inclusive Cross-border Payment to Promote Regional Economic Recovery".

Also participating in the session were Bank Indonesia governor Perry Warjiyo, Monetary Authority of Singapore managing director Ravi Menon, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas governor Felipe Medalla, and Bank of Thailand's deputy governor Ronadol Numnonda.