OCBC Bank has introduced a virtual banking experience for customers with the launch of OCBCx65Chulia on a leading browser-based Metaverse platform Decentraland.
Named after the address of the bank’s headquarters, OCBCx65Chulia occupies nine plots of virtual land integrating a heritage museum and banking lobby in one immersive and interactive space.
This will enable visitors to learn about the bank’s latest offerings through instant access to the bank’s website from the Metaverse platform.
Customers logging on to the platform will find links to services such as opening a bank account or applying for a credit card. They can also customise their own avatar, or chat with other users in the virtual world.
OCBC Bank’s head for group technology architecture Peter Koh said that the bank’s arrival in the Metaverse serves as an additional touchpoint to help the bank reach out to younger audiences.
“Though a nascent and evolving space that we are still working to understand, the Metaverse remains one of the newer ways to make a connection,” Koh said.
He added that the bank is ready to experiment and collaborate with industry players to learn and develop.
OCBCx65Chulia is a ground-up initiative of the bank’s digitalisation and transformation efforts since November 2021.
The platform has been through 43 iterations in the past two years. The in-house technology teams collaborated with homegrown Web3 firm Memotics which specialises in creating emotive and social spaces through digital architectural design to build the virtual bank. It has “successfully” helped OCBC Bank to create a new design language, Koh said.
The next phase of the project, expected to launch by the third quarter of this year, will involve games to further enhance the banking experience.
Koh said this enhancement will come from the winning ideas of a group of students from Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP), who won a hackathon.
