PKO Bank Polski

Executive summary:

PKO Bank Polski, in partnership with XR Wizards Ltd., has transformed its historic PKO Rotunda into a Metaverse experience through the Mazer platform, showcasing the bank’s drive for technological leadership and innovation in the financial industry.
Unveiled at Infoshare 2022, the virtual PKO Rotunda marks a milestone in interactive banking, positioning PKO Bank Polski at the forefront of digital customer engagement and setting the stage for the future of virtual financial services.

Background information:

PKO Bank Polski fosters innovation and R&D through its ‘Lets Fintech’ platform, collaborating with startups to drive the bank’s digital transformation.
The bank is also developing expertise in blockchain technology, artificial intelligence, DeFi and other innovative solutions that could revolutionize the financial market in a few years. Knowledge gained is being used to prepare PKO Bank for the challenges ahead.

“Every decade or so, the technology industry experiences a revolution that completely changes its development direction. The Metaverse, viewed from a decades’ perspective, has the potential to serve as a developmental impetus for the global economy, akin to the emergence of the personal computer, the Internet, or smartphones in the past. I would like PKO Bank Polski to be ready to take advantage of the opportunities involved and, once the Metaverse has matured, to set the pace in the technological development of the domestic banking sector and the Polish economy. This goal is achieved through the accumulation of knowledge and experience gained during our presence in the Metaverse. That’s why we decided to move our banking icon, PKO Rotunda, to the Metaverse world and launch our first branch there.“

Paweł Gruza | Vice President of PKO Bank Polski’s Management Board, said in a statement.

Goal:

PKO BP maintain its leadership status in delivering innovative financial technologies, satisfying customer needs and supporting Polish entrepreneurship. Continuously investing in development and the responsible implementation of modern solutions to ensure the convenience of managing finances from anywhere and at any time.

PKO Bank’s goal is to build the knowledge and experience it will need to use the new channel to communicate with customers, and to see in practice the other opportunities a Metaverse presence can offer. As a first step, Bank will explore the potential of the Metaverse to provide a more immersive onboarding experience for new employees and provide tailored training.

New solutions in this domain have the potential to assist in overcoming the obstacles that corporations across the globe are currently confronting following the transition to hybrid work modes.

At the same time, the Bank will develop solutions for creating a new channel for communicating with customers. Over the next decade, it will also devise solutions pertaining to identifying customers’ identities in meta- worlds and evaluate the feasibility of integrating banking products.

Reconstruction of the PKO Rotunda, the historic headquarters of the largest bank in the region, and transferring it to the Metaverse.

Project scope

Preparation of project enabling simultaneous participation:

Of several people using VR Gogges at the Bank’s stand, during the Infoshare Conference on October 6 and 7, 2022 in Gdansk, Poland.
Providing technical support during the Conference.
Providing infrastructure for the bank, which is constantly maintained.
Use the solution for Bank needs, for example, a virtual Rotunda on TV, during events or conferences, Rotunda is additionally embedded in Mazer and, at the bank’s request, it can be available to all users of the Mazer platform.

Implementation:

PKO Bank Polski was present at Infoshare 2022, where it unveiled a virtual VR application called Virtual Rotunda and announced its presence in the Metaverse. PKO Bank Poland has opened a branch in the Metaverse.
The virtual PKO Rotunda will serve as a digital laboratory for enhancing the bank’s meta-world presence expertise. The bank is monitoring the development of the metaverse platforms and wants to be ready to make business use of this channel in the future.

Achievments

Transferring Rotunda PKO to the Metaverse,
Project ready for InfoShare – sucssesful delivered,
Gallery of digital reproductions of paintings, prepared based on materials provided by the bank,
An underground cinema presenting the story of PKO BP S.A.,
A virtual bowling alley that allows multiplayer gameplay between people using VR goggles and touch motion controllers,
Virtual spaces containing elements related to the PKO BP brand,
Possibility to show the project at conferences and events,
Providing support with Mazer?
The execution was so good that it wasn’t necessary to use it.