The New Face of Money

Technology has always held the power of shaping jobs, economies, industries, and lives. And the banking sector is not privy to it. History is evidence that those who leveraged technology as early adopters at the right time continued to play an active role rather than perish.

- PAROMITA GUPTA

The banking system of the world and India are strong believers in it. Banks have long banked on two phenomena- if they can get the attention of customers when they are young, they can hold on to them for life and the customer-executive relation in a traditional physical space. But with time, the sector has aced spotting which change to adapt and which to avoid. Safe to say, they have been open to the adoption of Metaverse and virtual realities in their systems.

One of the two technologies to have been in the public eye, Metaverse is a virtual reality supported by sub-technologies such as augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality, blockchain, cryptocurrency, NFTs, and digital twins.

THE NEED TO ADOPT METAVERSE

Indian youth is a growing base for Metaverse and its subsequent technologies. Banks know that they need to leverage the virtual environment to retain a digitally-inclined customer base. Financial institutions will also be extending their offerings to decentralized platforms and communities, giving them an opportunity to expand their customer base.

Blockchain and tokenomics have given rise to a new form of currency- cryptocurrency, which can be traded, invested, or transacted by holders. Having cryptocurrency also enables one to buy virtual assets such as NFTs and engage in virtual gaming. This form of currency does not have banks as an intermediary between users and banks, and this is a point of concern for them. According to Statista, the number of users is expected to amount to 328.70M by 2027 in India alone.