Virtual Reality Financial Services Training Use Cases

Written by:

Talespin Team

The financial services industry is constantly evolving, requiring companies to continually invest in workforce upskilling and reskilling in order to ensure the best possible customer experiences.

These changes come at a time when the finance industry is seeing the rapid adoption of new technologies, such as adopting the Metaverse for use cases like teaching financial literacy and exploring Web 3.0 technologies like cryptocurrency and decentralized finance. The former topic of the Metaverse is relevant for more than just customer education for financial institutions, as virtual reality training is emerging as a powerful tool for training financial services employees.

In order to examine how virtual reality is being used for training in the financial services industry, we’re going to take a look at some of the use cases the technology is being applied to, such as customer service training, financial leader development, and managerial training.

Here are some use cases for VR training in the financial services industry:

Why Use Virtual Reality Training for Financial Services?
Risk Management Training in VR
VR Customer Service Training
Compliance Training Using Virtual Reality
Virtual Reality Sales Training for Financial Services Professionals
Virtual Reality Leadership Training for Finance Leaders

Why Use Virtual Reality Training for Financial Services?

The financial services industry faces workforce challenges. Employee turnover, the need to upskill and reskill significant portions of the workforce as products and technologies evolve, and increased competition that demands excellent customer experiences are examples of the pressure financial services institutions face in today’s market

Virtual reality training presents itself as a solution that can solve many of these challenges. Virtual reality training can help financial services companies upskill and reskill their workforces, attract and onboard new talent, and deliver top tier customer service and customer experience. This is because of VR training technology’s ability to deliver training that is:

Emotionally realistic
Proven to accelerate employee learning
Engaging for employees
Highly scalable for remote and hybrid workforces
Cost-effective in comparison to e-learning and classroom learning

With these VR training benefits in mind, let’s take a look at some key use cases for VR training in the financial services industry.

Risk Management Training in VR

Risk management is a critical function for financial services companies. Risk teams work to ensure companies are protected against internal and external risk, and put processes and controls in place to prevent them.

With VR training, financial professionals can learn about different types of risk and practice identifying, assessing and mitigating risk in a simulated training environments.

For example, VR simulations can be created to replicate scenarios in which operational errors, market fluctuations, and crisis situations like cyber attacks and natural disasters occur, allowing trainees to learn how to respond appropriately.

VR Customer Service Training for Financial Services Products

Customer experience is a critical focus for financial services institutions, as the financial products they provide service for are personal in nature. Discussing products like checking and savings accounts, retirement accounts, and other investment products require a variety of soft skills for effectively discussing with customers.

VR training can help employees develop the skills needed to provide exceptional customer service for financial products. For example, employees can practice training scenarios like handling difficult customers, answering frequently asked questions, and handling complex transactions, such as opening a new account or processing a loan application. Customer service skills that can be practiced and applied in VR include self-regulation, active listening, and empathetic communication.

Examples of customer service scenarios that can be simulated with VR training modules include:

Troubleshooting technical issues with online accounts
Explaining policies and features of different financial products that customers utilize
Answering frequently asked questions about financial services products specific to your organization and its product and service offerings
De-escalating and managing situations with customers who may have a complaint

Compliance Training in VR

The financial services industry is heavily regulated, and compliance is critical for avoiding legal and financial consequences. VR training can help employees understand the laws and regulations governing the industry and practice their application.

VR simulations can replicate scenarios that require compliance, such as handling sensitive customer information or detecting fraudulent activity. These training scenarios can be customized over time to keep up with new or changing regulations. Custom VR training modules can also be created to be specific to state requirements that may differ from one state to another.

Examples of compliance training use cases that can be practiced in VR include:

Fraud detection simulations
Simulating scenarios in which employees must interact with and process sensitive customer information
Creating training modules that can be customized for state-specific financial regulations

Virtual Reality Sales Training for Financial Services Professionals

Sales training is essential for financial professionals who need to persuade potential clients to invest in financial products or services. VR sales training can help employees develop the skills needed to sell effectively, such as building rapport, addressing objections, and closing deals.

Trainees can practice these skills in a simulated environment with virtual characters representative of customers, receiving feedback on their performance and improving their sales technique.

Virtual reality sales training use cases for financial products include:

Prospecting calls and qualifying leads
Building customer rapport and maintaining customer relationships
Identifying customer needs
Practicing overcoming common customer objections for your specific products or services
Responding to frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Learning about competitors and practicing discussing your company’s key points of differentiation

Virtual Reality Leadership Training for Finance Leaders

Virtual reality leadership training provides an effective approach to helping financial leaders and managers practice and develop their soft skills. With the use of VR technology, managers can practice difficult situations and conversations in a safe and repeatable training environment—this gives managers key practice repetitions and the opportunity to see the cause and effect relationships of their actions.

This "Effective Behavioral Feedback" VR training module exemplifies the types of leadership and management training scenarios that can be delivered with VR.

Examples of VR training use cases for financial services leaders and managers include:

Practicing giving performance feedback to direct reports and colleagues—both positive, and constructive feedback
Simulating crisis leadership scenarios to develop key leadership skill sets like adaptability, resiliency, and supportive leadership
Virtual reality empathy training

Frequently Asked Question About VR Training for Financial Services

How can VR be used in finance?

VR can be used in finance in a number of ways. For example, VR training simulations can be created that enable financial services professionals to practice skills ranging from customer service to leadership and sales training. VR can also be used to create educational experiences designed to teach customers about financial literacy, financial concepts, and decision-making.

What is VR in banking?

VR in banking refers to the use of virtual reality technology to enhance the banking experience for customers and bank employees. This can include virtual branch visits where customers can explore a virtual bank branch and interact with staff and services in a more immersive way.

It can also include virtual meetings with financial advisors, where customers can discuss their financial goals and receive advice remotely. VR training can also be used in banking to improve employee skills development and collaboration, as well as to enhance risk management and compliance.

How do banks use the Metaverse?

The Metaverse refers to a shared virtual space where people can interact with each other and digital content in a more immersive and interconnected way than is possible with traditional online platforms. Banks are starting to explore ways to use the Metaverse to engage their customers and employees, as well as to provide new services and experiences. A few examples include:

Virtual bank branches: Banks can create virtual branches within the Metaverse where customers can interact with staff and access services in a more immersive way than traditional online banking.
Financial education: Banks can create immersive educational experiences within the Metaverse that teach people about financial concepts and decision-making. Fidelity’s “Fidelity Stack” Metaverse experience is an example of this strategy, as Fidelity created a virtual Metaverse environment where people can go to learn about finance.
Investment opportunities: Banks can use the Metaverse to create virtual investment opportunities, such as virtual real estate or cryptocurrency investments.
Collaboration and networking: Banks can use the Metaverse to enable employees to collaborate and network with each other and with customers in a more immersive and interconnected way than traditional online or remote collaboration platforms.

Which bank has a virtual reality training program for its employees?

There are several banks that have launched virtual reality training programs for their employees. For example, Bank of America and UBS have adopted VR training for use cases like customer service training and leadership development for their employees.

Final Thoughts on VR Financial Services Training

Financial services companies have a diverse range of training needs as they seek to field workforces that can adapt to industry innovation and deliver excellent customer experiences. We hope the VR training for financial services use cases discussed in this blog post help you in your research on training methodologies for your own workforce.