BBVA explores what financial services will be like in the metaverse
At the South Summit, BBVA presents the BBVA Virtual Space, an immersive environment with which the bank wants to explore new ways of interacting with customers through the metaverse. This development, which allows experimenting how a banking service based on virtual reality could be, is also the protagonist of a 'hackathon' in which people are invited to offer new features or virtual experiences.
BBVA is attending the entrepreneurs' conference with its new Virtual Space, where you can try out how the interaction with the bank could be in a metaverse-like environment. Visitors to the BBVA stand at South Summit only have to put on virtual reality glasses to be immersed in the digital reproduction of La Vela, BBVA's headquarters in Madrid. There, your manager's avatar will be waiting for you, with whom you can interact remotely as if you were face-to-face in an office, while guiding you through the entire dynamic and immersive experience.
Nadia Calviño, First Vice President and Minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation of the Government of Spain, tests the BBVA Virtual Space at South Summit.
When you go up to one of the floors of the building, you can see magnificent views of Madrid, and access a space where the manager can offer you new products, projecting informative videos, which can be commented on while they are being viewed simultaneously. The user can also, from the same place, consult their accounts and visualize in an interactive format their expenses and income to make decisions that optimize their financial health. This information is personalized and is only visible to the customer, even if in the virtual space they continue to talk to the manager.
It is a whole experience, developed in conjunction with NTT Data, that shows how financial services can be integrated into the different metaverses. “We want to get a first-hand look at this new technology to understand its capabilities and where the ways of engaging with customers based on virtual reality can evolve. This is part of our innovation strategy and our commitment to technology from different angles,” comments Roberto Albaladejo, Head of Banking for Growth Companies at BBVA. In fact, the bank has coupled this development with a hackathon to seek new features and use cases for this virtual space.
To participate in the ‘BBVA Hackathon’ you need to form a multidisciplinary team that combines technological and business profiles. The objective of the challenge is to generate new business ideas, propose improvements in the customer experience or suggest the introduction of features that allow the customer to access other services.
The launch and opening of registration was held to coincide with the inauguration of South Summit. Over the next few months, the selected teams will receive training on the programming language, design and other educational pieces about this virtual experience. At the end of October, they will make their proposals and BBVA will choose the winning team of the challenge.
This initiative is part of BBVA's open innovation strategy, which seeks to approach new ideas and support entrepreneurship as a basis for driving the transformation of financial services and helping the transition to a more sustainable society.
“We want to be the bank for entrepreneurs and help them grow their businesses and make them a success. With financial services, access to credit and also seeking the bank's collaboration with high-growth companies,” said Albaladejo, during the opening ceremony of the event.
The BBVA Virtual Space can be visited at the BBVA stand until June 10 when the South Summit closes its doors.