Shinhan Bank to Launch Its Own Metaverse Platform Within the Year
[Asia Economy Reporter Yu Je-hoon] Shinhan Financial Group is accelerating its entry into virtual spaces by building an investment platform utilizing the three-dimensional virtual world known as the ‘Metaverse.’ Amid fierce offensives by big tech companies within the financial sector recently, the group aims to maintain its initiative in the virtual space.
According to the financial sector on the 14th, Shinhan AI has been promoting the development of a metaverse platform tentatively named ‘Metabest’ since last year. Shinhan AI is an AI investment advisory subsidiary of Shinhan Financial Group. A Shinhan Financial official stated, "With AI-based financial services through robo-advisors such as asset allocation and fund investment becoming practical, Shinhan AI is currently reviewing and developing ways to apply these to the metaverse platform," adding, "The scope of investment and market analysis services using AI will be continuously updated through machine learning."
Shinhan Financial is considered one of the most proactive among traditional financial institutions in entering the metaverse platform market. Shinhan Bank also plans to launch its own metaverse platform within the year, the first in the industry, aiming to build a virtual branch network. Notably, last month, Shinhan Bank accelerated its efforts by establishing a strategic partnership with KT through a share exchange and decided to provide ‘life-oriented electronic financial services’ via the metaverse platform.
Shinhan Financial is not alone in putting its life on the line for metaverse platform development. KB Kookmin Bank recently created a ‘KB Financial Town Beta Version’ within the metaverse gaming platform Roblox, launching a game that combines virtual branches and financial services. The purpose of building this virtual branch is to verify the feasibility of integrating financial services into Roblox.
Hana Bank also established a ‘Digital Innovation Task Force Team (TFT)’ last year to enter the metaverse field and opened the metaverse virtual space Hana World. NongHyup Bank plans to launch the metaverse platform ‘NH Dokdo Bus’ next month. Woori Bank became the first among banks to join the ‘Metaverse Alliance,’ which includes over 200 major domestic companies.
The reason banks are actively building their own metaverse platforms is attributed to the rising influence of big tech, which is becoming a reality. As traditional branch networks, the core of conventional operations, shrink and the domain of big tech companies controlling platforms and big data expands, metaverse platforms can facilitate targeting the MZ generation (born between 1980 and 2000), collecting big data, and linking with virtual assets?areas where traditional commercial banks have been considered weak.
A financial sector official said, "With the expansion of big tech and the surge in non-face-to-face demand due to COVID-19, the existing business methods are inevitably losing market leadership," adding, "The key is whether the banks’ metaverse platforms function as ‘platforms’ beyond mere promotional or meeting channels."
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