DBS wants in on The Sandbox metaverse

The largest lender in Southeast Asia, DBS Bank Ltd., announced a partnership with blockchain-based metaverse gaming platform The Sandbox to develop new services for customers in the 3D virtual environment that employs digital avatars.

According to a statement from DBS, the bank is the first in Singapore to join the metaverse and the first corporate to cooperate with The Sandbox, a division of Animoca Brands in Hong Kong. In order to investigate Web3’s potential for the benefit of customers, it indicated that “DBS BetterWorld” will be developed in The Sandbox.

“Over the last decade, the biggest changes in the world of finance have been catalyzed by digital advancements,” Piyush Gupta, chief executive officer of DBS, said in the statement.

“In the coming decade, driven by new technologies, such as artificial intelligence and blockchain, these shifts have the potential to be even more profound. Metaverse technology, while still evolving, could also fundamentally change the way banks interact with customers and communities,” he said.

DBS joins other banks in investigating commercial prospects in the metaverse. When JP Morgan launched a lounge in Decentraland in February, it claimed to be the first bank in the virtual world. HSBC joined The Sandbox a month later to interact with gamers and sports lovers.

Union Bank of India introduced the “Uni-Verse,” a metaverse virtual lounge where consumers can learn more about loans and other banking products, elsewhere in Asia. In The Sandbox metaverse, DBS claimed it will purchase a 3 by 3 plot of land, or a virtual piece of real estate. The land and production on DBS BetterWorld will be carbon neutral thanks to a partnership between the bank and The Sandbox to purchase carbon offsets.