Banking In The Metaverse: The Next Frontier

Techved
4 min readJun 8, 2022

The metaverse is a topic that has never seen such a rapid rise in popularity. Although extended reality (XR technology) has been around for a while, its popularity has increased recently with some analysts predicting that the metaverse will be an $8 trillion market.

The industry has seen a surge in popularity thanks to more people using online gaming to escape the pandemic. It is expected that the industry will generate $454 billion by 2024. Although the speed at which the metaverse expands beyond gaming is not known, it is clear that this frontier is on the horizon. Banks are facing FOMO (fear and obsession with missing out), which is more than ever.

Banks will be more excited about the potential of the metaverse if they have more conversations with them. Banks need to be open to all possibilities, no matter how mind-bending this new environment might seem. This will change everything, from the basics of business to the future.

Banks are now jumping on the metaverse bandwagon. It’s crucial to strike a balance between prescriptive and curious. The metaverse, as we see it, will revolutionize the way banks engage, enable, and invent.

1. Your existing functionality can be made 3D.

The internet was not widely available until about 15 to 20 years after it began to spread into banking. It took five to six years for the mobile phone to become mainstream. We can create a vast universe that allows customers to be immersed in it, and we have moved beyond 2D to 3D. Banks need to consider how banking could be done in a 3D environment.

It’s not surprising to see the early industry pioneers in this field, with 47% of bankers believing customers will use AR/VR as an alternative channel for transactions. BNP Paribas launched a VR app to allow customers to use VR for their banking transactions including account opening. Citi has also tested holographic workstations in financial trading.

There are incredible opportunities to improve the employee experience. Bank employees play an important role in enhancing a bank’s brand and creating meaningful interactions with customers. Bank of America has deployed VR training for 50,000 employees to simulate real customer service scenarios. This allows branch employees to adjust their behavior and detect emotions in a safe environment.

AR/VR can also be a powerful tool in the battle for talent. It offers new avenues for engagement, talent attraction, and retention. Accenture brought 3D technology to its employees during the pandemic. It found new ways to connect its members and improve our work-from-home experiences. Did you ever have a virtual snowball battle with your colleagues? We have.

Banking’s future in the metaverse will depend on 3D customer and employee experiences. Those who want to be ahead of the curve will need to begin enhancing their capabilities immediately. You can then go beyond “lifting” and shifting existing experiences into AR/VR channels and reimagine the ways you can communicate with clients, give advice, and build relationships… all virtual.

2. Engaging your customers in new and meaningful ways

Although banking is functionally perfect, it can be emotionally disconnected. Ironically, banks have the metaverse as a way to bring humanity back into banking. It also allows them to deepen relationships with customers and make new connections.

The metaverse opens up new avenues for reaching new audiences, such as a younger and more NFT-savvy generation. This audience will require banks to communicate with them in new ways. We all remember our trips to the bank with our parents. What will the metaverse equivalent look like for the next generation of people?

This could allow bank customers to visit virtual branches to receive high-touch customer care, tour a home with a mortgage broker, discuss retirement plans with an avatar advisor and attend an investor event.

JP Morgan is the latest bank in the metaverse to open its Onyx lounge. South Korea’s Kookmin Bank offers one-on-one consultations with employees and customers via its virtual bank. Customers also have access to customized financial information.

Start educating your team on this technology now to explore the possibilities. To help executives understand the potential of the metaverse, create prototypes quickly. Demonstrate to leaders how the metaverse connects people, places, and things in the real and virtual worlds. Also, how it can create a sense of belonging and encourage collaboration. The metaverse exists only with people.

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