The financial world has evolved over the past 130 years due to technology-enabled financial solutions. As a result of financial globalization, we can say that the late 19th century was marked by financial globalization. Beginning with the development of technologies such as telegraph lines and railroads. The transmission of financial information worldwide was made possible by these technologies.
The way financial institutions provide services has been enhanced dramatically by rapid technological developments. Data collection, manipulation, and use in the financial sector have traditionally relied on human input. There has always been human involvement in every area of the financial industry, including investment banking, accounting, and wealth management.
In the next decade, Big Data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence (AI) emerged. Our daily lives have been impacted by artificial intelligence. Our financial sector is imbued with artificial intelligence, as it powers social media, activates facial recognition, and suggests music to listen to.
AR and VR in Financial Sector
Immersive Augmented and virtual reality applications have become the next phase of financial evolution. Having a basic understanding of these realities is important before we delve into the ways in which these technologies have turned the financial sector on its head.
Immersive and multi-sensory computer-generated experiences are what virtual reality (VR) is all about. It’s an interactive simulation in which users can interact with the environment. A VR headset allows users to experience reality around them.
Technology like augmented reality (AR) overlays digital images over the real world. By using smart glasses, smartphones, and tablets, you can access information in an immersive and dynamic manner.
AR and VR’s revolutionary potential in finance
According to the investment bank Goldman Sachs, the augmented and virtual reality market is forecasted to reach 80 billion dollars by 2025. By making the user experience more accessible and personalized, financial institutions are implementing these technologies with the aim of increasing value and proposition.
In the past, AR and VR have been used for simple but effective applications, for example, to post information about nearby ATMs and bank branches. Banking solutions and investment advice have become more dynamic with 3D solutions.
Virtual reality can enable users to get unprecedented visual experiences by developing a personalized, face-to-face experience. By making the experience more personal, these reality technologies are helping financial institutions demonstrate empathy to their clients. Using big data and an individual’s portfolio, Fidelity Investments developed a virtual reality agent called Cora to interact with its users. The VR chat room allows users to ask Cora questions as well.
AR and VR: Adding Value to the Financial Sector
Through increasing efficiencies, adding value to services, and expanding the sector, the financial sector has revolutionized itself over the past 130 years. Thus, the application of AR and VR is expected to achieve each point on the evolutionary spectrum.
1. Virtual trading
Augmented reality allows users to track, visualize, and track financial markets in depth. A replacement for flat images and charts has been 3D visualization, intuitive heat maps, and holographic visualization. Real-time data can be used to make trading decisions.
Both AR and VR have contributed to making our workplaces accessible from anywhere. Virtual agents can now be consulted through virtual rooms or by working on their laptops or mobile devices. By analyzing financial data together, it strengthens the decision-making process.
2. Security
Since institutions are collecting, storing, and managing vast amounts of data, tech-driven solutions are becoming more popular.
Biometrics are a crucial component of the augmented reality framework, which offers more secure and sustainable protection against identity theft and data breaches – issues that may not have been on their priority list in the past. As behavioral biometrics gain popularity, iris detection, voice recognition, and facial recognition are integrating with AR to maximize security and privacy.
3. Data visualization
With simplified data breakdowns, advisors, investors, traders, and individuals can now make informed decisions based on mass data. Access to information such as this has been improved both through AR and VR. In order to analyze data and stock portfolios accurately, Fidelity Labs used the Oculus Rift to create an immersive 3D environment. Stock City, located within this realm, provides insights into the stock market and immersion in data.
4. Retail banking
Over the past decade, virtual retail banking has played an increasingly important role in Fintech as the industry has become increasingly digitized. Virtual assistants and chatbots have added the element of a personalized customer experience. AR facilitates the possibility of face-to-face communication anytime, anywhere.
5. Financial Education
In order to understand changes in financial systems, education is crucial for employees and customers of financial institutions. VR Finance has enormous potential for teaching people new information with AR and VR.
6. Customer Service
AR and VR are being utilized by a number of financial institutions to improve customer experiences. Customers can find banks and ATMs in AR apps offered by many banks. Using their phones, they can scan an area in real time and see information on nearby banks, such as their location and distance from their location. Several companies offer phone and tablet applications that let customers scan homes with their phones and get more detailed information about the property as they are passing by. The AR environment may soon offer advanced features like mortgage calculators and 3D interiors.
7. Virtual Branches
Several banks have already gone digital and have adopted mobile banking. In the near future, we may be able to go to a virtual bank. There will soon be a virtual branch option available to customers who cannot visit their local branches. We hope that VR branches will provide services that are identical to those offered by current branches, but to an exclusive extent.
As a result, not only are customers more satisfied, but banks are also able to reduce their costs as they no longer have to invest in physical locations.
8. Recruitment and Training
A financial institution needs to ensure that it recruits the best candidates and trains their employees appropriately so that they are able to provide customers with high-quality service. Virtual reality is being used by some banks to demonstrate their innovation and technology capabilities to tech recruits. Through this platform, employees, including potential employees, can collaborate and create apps to help the bank’s customers.
9. Customer Acquisition
This generation is often referred to as the millennials because they have grown up in a world very different from their grandparents or parents. They view many systems differently than other generations, because they grew up with technology.
It has been reported that 73% of Millennials prefer Google, PayPal, and Apple over local banks for financial products. About 33% of respondents do not see a need for banks any time soon.
To remain appealing to this generation as well as the ones that follow, banks and other financial institutions are incorporating more technology, including AR and VR, into their operations.
The future of an immersive financial sector
The use of augmented reality and virtual reality has begun to be incorporated into daily financial transactions. There are some exciting developments in the pipeline. Our experiences with VR and AR in alternative industries such as healthcare, education, and construction can help shape financial services into a virtual reality.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2. https://www.tjip.com/en/publications/9-applications-of-ar-vr-in-the-financial-industry