How the adoption of immersive technologies could transform the way the payment industry performs?

The applications of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are no clandestine for businesses across diverse industry verticals. From virtual gaming to revolutionizing future workplaces, these immersive technologies have a substantial impact on business operations. The financial services industry is not an exception as these technologies promise more opportunities to payment companies and financial institutions to engage their customer in a virtual world.

VR and AR have already taken FinTech by storm enabling companies and startups to analyze and take appropriate actions for rapidly changing customer behaviors. According to the global investment bank Goldman Sachs' estimations, augmented and virtual realities are likely to become an 80-billion-dollar market by 2025. Financial institutions are experimenting with these technologies by focusing on the increased value propositions that can be derived by making the experience more personalized and accessible core banking systems. 

Both AR and VR are typically redefining the way banks and financial services providers deliver more personal banking experience to customers. Fidelity Investments, for instance, brought a VR agent, named Cora, capable of interacting with customers by recommending stocks, pulling up financial charts, and evaluating how a company performs and whether it is fit into the investors’ portfolio.

Some financial institutions are leveraging AR/VR to make trading a virtual experience by creating virtual workstations. For example, financial services firm Citi uses Microsoft HoloLens to provide traders Holographic Workstations. This offers 2D and 3D elements that add to the bank’s existing processes. Comarch, on the other side, leverages VR in its wealth management software to deliver users better access to algorithms and trading tools.

Heightened Payment Experience with Virtual Retail Banking

The financial industry these days is making incredible leaps and bounds toward digitization, and the concept of virtual retail banking is begun rolling out. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), for example, recently announced eight new virtual banking licenses to operators who will launch new digital-only banks.

With the help of chatbots and virtual assistants, this banking experience is becoming more prevalent, delivering personalized and immersive customer experience. Virtual banking simply provides a face-to-face interaction from any time anywhere and gives key-value addition that most financial services firms are seeking with AR, simplifying better interaction and trust in the advice.

Moreover, using the applications of AR provides customers with information regarding their payments and enable how their funds are transferred to another account. Augmented reality and virtual reality in banking can also be used to create a more secure customer experience. For example, biometric security could be introduced in an AR system, subsequently, connect with a VR world. These could be used to access several banking processes such as VR bank services, ATM transactions, and payments. 

Considering market reports, the market of virtual reality is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 33.5 percent from US$7.9 billion in 2018 to US$44.7 billion by 2024.