apart from report The slow adoption of users of Meta’s Horizon Worlds virtual reality platform makes the Metaverse very promising as a future space for people and organizations to interact.

As transformative as the Metaverse may sound, it is simply the next evolution of the Internet. And just as human interactions, consumer behavior, and organizational strategies and services have adapted to new technologies, they will adapt and embrace the metaverse as it expands. These technologies include cloud computing, distributed networks, augmented and virtual reality, blockchain, edge computing, and more, and can support shared metaverse experiences at scale.

For financial institutions, the metaverse is a new frontier for developing innovative products and services with significant growth potential. JPMorgan Chase estimates a $1 trillion annual market opportunity over the next few years.

Demand for banking and financial services will persist as the Metaverse’s infrastructure and population develops and people seek to engage in transactions such as buying and selling art, avatars, names, and other assets. There will be more opportunities for financial institutions to offer payments, investments, loans, mortgages and insurance in the metaverse.

Major financial institutions have already increased their presence in the metaverse. Indeed, large banks can play a key role in metaverse commerce through their expertise in cross-border payments, foreign exchange, and the creation, trading, and storage of financial assets.

Credit unions and community banks can thrive in the metaverse by leveraging what they do best in the physical world. This means you can establish trust with your community and differentiate yourself through a personalized member experience.

Organizations can leverage the metaverse to showcase a company’s identity, mission, and environmental, social and governance (ESG) values ​​in creative and memorable ways, creating an emotional connection with their customers and enhancing their brands. You can strengthen it. Early adopters can gain a significant advantage, especially among younger, digitally savvy consumers and sub-communities thriving in the metaverse.

Below are some policies and actions that can help financial institutions get ready to build and maintain their customer base in the metaverse.

Emphasize ethics and inclusivity: The metaverse ideally democratizes access to products, services, and jobs. However, as Metaverse regulation and governance are in their infancy, financial institutions have a greater responsibility to ensure the inclusiveness and financial well-being of their customers. Banks that demonstrate ethics and inclusion at the core of their Metaverse operations will earn respect, trust and brand differentiation.

It should be noted that as the metaverse expands, the digital divide may widen. One way financial institutions can be inclusive is by providing access to virtual reality experiences in their branches, especially in low-income and remote areas. While the Metaverse can be accessed from smartphones, VR headsets typically offer a more dynamic experience and improve the level of service.

Start experimenting now: Organizations can leverage virtual reality to simulate bank customer situations when training customer support employees. Additionally, the immersive environment serves as a great tool for onboarding new remote employees and creates the conditions for realizing company values ​​and culture. Bank of America has already adopted virtual reality for employee training at approximately 4,300 financial centers.

Prioritize privacy and identity authentication. Protecting user identity and privacy will become even more important to ensure secure interactions and transactions in the metaverse. Continually improving their security protocols and adopting new and innovative technologies such as voice biometrics for more accurate identification, financial institutions are ready to adopt the new wave of security measures required for the Metaverse. increase.

Tie your metaverse strategy to your CX strategy. Financial institutions have evolved their customer experience strategies in response to changing customer expectations for seamless communication across channels, more digital-first experiences, and smarter self-service options. The metaverse represents the next evolution of client needs and expectations, so organizations should build their metaverse strategy around CX.

The metaverse is still in its infancy and there are issues around interoperability standards and secure sharing of customer data across platforms and ecosystems. Similarly, it is unclear how banking regulations will apply in the metaverse. Still, financial institutions that fail to prepare for the Metaverse risk falling far behind.

Bhavana Rana teeth Director of Financial Services and Insurance at Talkdesk.