Beyond One-Time Experiences, Holding Ceremonies and Promoting Products
Each Financial Group Accelerates Promotion and Review of 'Virtual Branches'
Welcome Financial Group celebrates its 19th anniversary with its self-developed metaverse platform, 'Welcome Island.' Employees of Welcome Financial Group are gathered in the plaza.
[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seungseop][Asia Economy Reporter Song Seungseop] While strolling through the fields with colleagues searching for hidden treasures, they discovered a rainbow and took a selfie. Climbing up a cliff behind them and looking down, they could faintly see another continent. After changing into newly bought clothes, they boarded a small boat and crossed the sea. Upon arriving at the dock, they found a new house and ended the day sitting by a campfire.
This is not a story from fantasy or fairy tales. It can be directly experienced on ‘Welcome Island,’ a proprietary platform created by Welcome Financial Group to hold its anniversary event. Participants create virtual characters to engage in conversations with colleagues from other affiliates and enjoy the game.
Financial companies are actively entering the metaverse platform space. Beyond simple one-time experiences, they increasingly use it as event venues or for promotion, marketing, and non-face-to-face operations. Major financial groups are also considering ways to utilize the metaverse as a revenue-generating tool, bringing the opening of virtual branches one step closer.
According to the financial sector on the 28th, Welcome Financial conducted a five-day metaverse workshop last week to celebrate the group’s 19th anniversary. Employees attended autonomously using mobile devices or PCs in the metaverse environment. The process of completing missions allowed participants to learn about the status of other affiliates. The space is planned to be used later for the New Year’s ceremony and recruitment.
The Hanaglobal Campus map implemented on Naver's metaverse platform 'Zepeto.' Any Zepeto user can freely enter and explore the campus.
Hana Financial Group is publicly offering its self-developed metaverse world to customers through Naver’s metaverse platform ‘Zepeto.’ Zepeto users can freely access Hana Global Campus, Hana Bank Customer Management Center, Hana Card World, and more. The interior of branches is recreated so customers can explore, and related products or characters are naturally promoted.
Hana Bank has also established a ‘Digital Innovation Task Force Team (TFT)’ within its Digital Experience Headquarters to actively participate in the metaverse ecosystem. As a dedicated metaverse team, they are considering approaches such as lectures and consultation services for private banking (PB) clients and sales support using augmented reality (AR) technology. Currently, the metaverse platform is used for meetings and weekend voluntary training programs.
KB Financial Group’s Management Research Institute released a metaverse-related report in June and proposed digital branches. The idea is that building virtual branches where advertising models work on the Zepeto platform would increase the influx of future MZ generation customers and establish a brand image leading digital finance.
Woori Bank joined the ‘Metaverse Alliance’ promoted by the Ministry of Science and ICT in August and announced plans to actively pursue future financial businesses based on the metaverse. The 2021 Digital and IT New Employee Appointment Ceremony held last month was conducted on a metaverse platform modeled after Woori Bank’s main branch auditorium. Woori Bank plans to create a metaverse pilot branch to provide digital financial innovation services.
Lendit, an on-to company, is holding an all-hands meeting for all employees in Gather Town. CEO Sungjun Kim (left) is presiding over the meeting. In Gather Town, when employees gather in the same space, they can connect via video and communicate.
Some financial companies have already introduced metaverse platforms into their work methods. Online investment-linked finance company ‘Lendit’ built its own ‘Lendit Town’ on the metaverse platform ‘Gather Town,’ developed by the US startup ‘Gather’ last year. It is designed to closely resemble an office, with meeting rooms and lounges created for use in meetings. Using features like whiteboards, participants can share screens and write documents simultaneously during meetings.
Kim Sungjun, CEO of Lendit, explained, “In the second half of this year, as the company’s work-from-home period lengthened due to COVID-19 social distancing, we considered new communication strategies. We introduced Gather Town for biweekly meetings, which allows diverse communication and has increased employee satisfaction, so we plan to gradually adopt it for company work.”
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