While pitched at younger, retail clients, the rollout also has implications for the kind of offerings that could be presented to wealth management customers in future.

OCBC Bank in Singapore has taken a journey into the “metaverse" by launching a platform for clients where they can learn about its services and open accounts and apply for credit. The lender is making a play for younger clients with this rollout.

The “Decentraland” offering is named after the address of the bank’s headquarters on Chulia Street, Singapore. 

The notion of a “metaverse,” which originated in the 1992 science fiction novel Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson, relates to a network of 3D virtual worlds focused on social connection. It is reshaping sectors from advertising to working arrangements. Areas such as space flight, blockchain, e-gaming, virtual working, movies, and retail, are all affected. Already, the working-from-home phenomenon caused by the pandemic has turned elements of fiction into hard reality. Online retail is also a major force, upending traditional bricks-and-mortar shopping models.

Occupying nine plots of virtual land, the futuristic-looking spherical design is modelled after OCBC Bank’s red logo. 

The next phase of rollout, projected to be ready in the third quarter of 2023, will involve gamification to take the experience further. This enhancement will come from the ideas of a group of Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) Diploma in Interaction Design students. 

To build the bank’s presence on Decentraland, the in-house technology team collaborated with homegrown Web3 firm Memotics, which specialises in creating emotive and social spaces through digital architectural design.