Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) enters the Metaverse

Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) has bought a sandbox property in the Metaverse which it says it plans to develop to appeal to sports and gaming fans. It is her first step in the metaverse.

The bank says it sees great potential in creating new experiences through new platforms and wants to create innovative brand experiences.

One of the largest banks in the world goes to the metaverse. HSBC, which has nearly $3 trillion in assets, will buy land on the Metaverse platform, The Sandbox, and use it to interact with gaming and sports fans to provide better value to existing and new customers.In announcing the venture, The Sandbox said it plans to provide a variety of ways to interact with the global financial services and sports communities.

In an accompanying blog post, The Sandbox explained that HSBC, the second largest bank in Europe after France’s BNP Paribas, will acquire a property in its Metaverse to be developed to appeal to sports, esports and gaming enthusiasts and to get in touch with them:

“The agreement opens the door for other global institutions to continue innovating on the Web3 as consumers demand more robust experiences in the metaverse through decentralized and gamified offerings.”

HSBC didn’t give too many details about exactly what they plan to offer with their Metaverse project. The Sandbox plans to announce more details “in due course”.Suresh Balaji, HSBC’s Chief Marketing Officer for Asia Pacific, described the Metaverse as “the way people will experience Web3, the next generation of the internet – utilizing immersive technologies such as augmented reality, virtual reality and extended reality”. He added:

“At HSBC, we see great potential to create new experiences through new platforms that open up a world of possibilities for our current and future customers and the communities we serve.”

Balaji further explained that the partnership will enable the bank to create innovative branded experiences for its customers. They want to work with sports partners, brand ambassadors and Animoca Brands, the company behind The Sandbox, to “collaborate to create experiences that are educational, inclusive and accessible”.

The Sandbox has grown in popularity as the Metaverse becomes more of a mainstream phenomenon. The Sandbox already works with over 200 brands and companies including Adidas, Gucci, Ubisoft, Warner Music Group, The Walking Dead, Snoop Dogg, Atari and Steve Aoki.

HSBC is now joining these partners to “leverage the culture of Web3 and engage with customers through entertainment, games and user-generated content. We believe this is the start of broader adoption of Web3 and the Metaverse by institutions driving branded experiences and engagement within this new ecosystem,” comments Sebastien Borget, co-founder of The Sandbox.

HSBC is now the second major bank in the Metaverse, after JPMorgan.