Metaverse in financial industry: Use cases, value, and challenges

The Metaverse is an emerging technology with the potential to revolutionize business processes and models across various industries. Financial institutions, including universal banks, are actively exploring its applications in financial services. Despite the concept of the Metaverse being around for several years, there is a notable gap in studies examining its value proposition for financial services. To address this gap, we conducted semi-structured interviews with experts from the Metaverse and financial sectors. We formulate interview questions to comprehensively explore the Metaverse, seeking to gain insight into its diverse aspects, scope and implications for financial service providers. These inquiries are structured around five primary themes, including the understanding of the Metaverse, potential use cases, benefits, impacts, and challenges. Based on our interview findings, we examine the factors that impede the alignment between academic research and industry practices. Finally, we outline the future research directions.