PKO Bank Polski has received the Global Retail Banking Innovation Award 2023 for building a brand presence in the Metaverse.

PKO Bank Polski has emerged as the winner in the international Global Retail Banking Innovation Awards 2023 competition organized by The Digital Banker magazine. The competition's jury awarded the bank first place in the "Outstanding Customer Relations & Brand Engagement Initiative" category for its actions related to establishing its presence in the Metaverse.

In justifying the award, the organizers highlighted the innovative approach in organizing Virtual Job Fairs #PKOBankTalentów and marketing activities aimed at engaging users of Metaverse platforms with the PKO Bank Polski brand. In the competition, the results of which were announced on October 19 during a ceremony in Singapore, PKO Bank Polski surpassed 530 projects submitted by 190 banks from around the world.

A year ago, when we launched our first bank branch in the Metaverse, we viewed this project as our digital laboratory. We wanted to enter the virtual world and practically discover what added value we could bring to it and how to use our presence in this space for business purposes. Today, we have gained invaluable knowledge and solutions that bring us closer to the next step - appearing on gaming platforms and building solutions based on virtual and augmented reality. We aim to be a leader in metabanking in our region, and we are convinced that, thanks to our innovative approach, the Metaverse will be an important communication channel with young customers in the future. Awards like the Global Retail Banking Innovation Award 2023 further strengthen our belief in this 

- said Artur Kurcweil, Vice President of the Management Board of PKO Bank Polski supervising the Technology Area.

The first bank branch in the Metaverse

 Since 2022, PKO Bank Polski has been present on the Decentraland platform, where it became the first bank in Poland to launch its virtual branch - a digital replica of the PKO Rotunda in Warsaw. The branch serves as a digital laboratory for developing tools dedicated to the Metaverse. The bank uses it to test various forms of user engagement and build expertise in the virtual world. Visitors to the virtual Rotunda can see, among other things, a gallery of Polish contemporary art from the collections of PKO Bank Polski and an exhibition dedicated to the bank's history. There is also a gamification element that introduces the possibility of finding and collecting digital points placed in various locations in the branch.

Virtual Job Fairs #PKO Bank Talent

In May 2023, PKO Bank Polski, as one of the first in the world, organized fully virtual job fairs in the Metaverse. The fairs were dedicated to both those entering the job market and more experienced specialists in areas such as IT, Data Science, Big Data, Sales, Customer Service, UX, Risk, and Operations. Participants in the fairs received advice on building a career path based on future skills and tips on how to write a good CV, prepare for a job interview, and make a good first impression. The most active users were given the opportunity to schedule an individual interview with bank recruiters.

At PKO Bank Polski, we are constantly looking for new ways to connect with people interested in working at the bank, which is why in May, we decided to test the possibilities offered by the Metaverse in this regard. We organized fully virtual job fairs, which were a great success. Over 600 people visited them, and some not only left us their CVs but also immediately scheduled interviews with recruiters. Organizing the event was a significant challenge for us because, in planning it, we could not easily relate our vision to other similar events. Therefore, the success of the event and the awarded prize make us even happier 

- said Jolanta Wiewióra, Director of the Employee Relations Department at PKO Bank Polski.

PKO Bank Polski will accelerate development in the Metaverse

After the initial positive experiences related to its presence on the Decentraland platform, PKO Bank Polski has decided to further develop its virtual PKO Rotunda and increase its attractiveness. The bank also intends to appear on gaming platforms such as Fortnite and Roblox, where it plans to create interactive educational and entertainment spaces for children and young people. The bank will continue to build its experience in virtual reality (VR) and extended reality (XR). After creating the PKO Rotunda model in VR technology in 2022, it is also preparing to design and maintain a virtual bank space on the next models of VR/XR goggles.

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PKO Bank Polski is the undisputed leader of the Polish banking sector, with the value of its assets amounting to PLN 444 billion. In first quater of 2023, the bank generated PLN 1.5 billion in net profit. The company serves 11.7 million customers. It is the basic supplier of financial services for all customer segments, achieving the highest shares in the market of deposits, loans and in the market of private investment funds. Thanks to the development of digital tools, including the IKO application, which is actively used by 7.4 million customers, PKO Bank Polski is the most mobile bank in Poland.