VTB begins to interact with clients in virtual reality. Photo and video

On May 6, 2019, VTB Bank at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) demonstrated new solutions for its customers using virtual reality technology (VR). In particular, solutions for choosing real estate in mortgages and investment advice for individuals. They are based on virtual reality glasses and special VR applications and are intended for use directly in bank branches.

With the help of a VR mortgage, the client will be able to remotely see apartments in residential complexes through virtual reality glasses. VR-glasses make it possible to evaluate all the characteristics of a real estate object: location on the map of Moscow, infrastructure of a residential complex, including children's and viewing platforms, distance from the metro and social facilities, layout and possible detailed design of rooms. The solution also offers 360-degree panoramas with the ability to build routes.

In virtual reality, there is a virtual consultant managed by a real VTB employee from one of the bank's branches. He can accompany the client at all stages of the virtual walk.

VTB VR mortgage demo video

VTB Director of Digital Transformation Project Management Sergey Donbass told TAdviser that several people can be present in virtual reality at the same time. It is convenient when several family members come to choose an apartment at a bank branch, he explains. In fact, this is an analogue of a walk with a realtor, says Donbass.

As conceived by the bank, it will be possible to see not only already built objects, but also those that are just beginning to be built.

Unlike choosing real estate in a mortgage by catalog or on the site, in the VR application  there are completely different sensations: you can understand the dimensions of the object, see available options for the design of the room, move further or closer, better understand where and what is, evaluate the view from the window of the future apartment. The catalog will not give such a complete picture. We think that  the choice  of real estate in VR  will be  interesting and popular with customers, "said Sergey Donbass in a conversation with TAdviser

Walk through the residential complex in the VTB VR application

Donbass also explained to TAdviser that developers have a lot of 3D content, and this has to do with creating virtual reality applications. To do this, VTB takes content from developers and adapts it for VR.

Now we are filling the application with content. You can already see two residential complexes of our partners, walk around them. And in the near future, we plan to make available at least 100 facilities throughout Russia. In June, we are launching the first stage of a pilot project with a mortgage, and in August we are already hoping to begin its wider deployment, "VTB's director of digital transformation project management told TAdviser.

VTB plans at the initial stage of the "pilot" - the installation in 3 branches of the bank in Moscow, Yakutsk and Krasnoyarsk of a VR solution for a pilot with real customers.

The point of the platform is that, having created an application once, we can give it access to various organizations, companies that can sell real estate with us. We are now considering this option of cooperation, "a representative of VTB told TAdviser.

Another VR application is VTB investment. It is created for customers who know little about investments, but have the amount of money they want to invest in something. The application allows you to understand what kind of investments are, what types of investments are, for what purposes they can be directed, and at the last stage the client helps to collect a stake.

In fact, this is consultation with the help of a robot. We have a very large network, and providing qualified advice in all places is quite difficult, as well as training all operationalists for this. In addition, when communicating with a real consultant, the client can easily be distracted by a call or something else. Plus VR in this case - it helps the client fully immerse himself in the content, nothing distracts him. And the bank, in turn, optimizes the costs of training and delivering content to the client, "explained Sergey Donbass TAdviser.

VTB VR Investment Application Interface

The representative of VTB added that in the future, if necessary, as in the case of the VR application for mortgages, real consultants in the form of a virtual avatar will be connected here to solve difficult issues.

The bank plans to launch the investment application in 2019 in 10 cities in pilot mode. After the pilots, it will become clear that it needs to be finalized so that this works effectively in the field, said Sergey Donbass in a conversation with TAdviser.

VTB VR Investment Application Interface

To develop VR applications, VTB engaged a contractor. Which one, the bank chose not to specify.

Screenshots and videos provided by TAdviser VTB.