A survey carried out last year by the Locomotiva Institute answered a question that many people have: does anyone still use ATMs? The answer is: yes, more than half of the population uses ATM machines at least once a month. Despite this, there is no denying that, especially among younger people, the service has lost relevance, thanks to the arrival of digital banks and tools such as PIX.

But TecBan, controller of the Banco24Horas network, is betting on the metaverse to expand its contact with this public, launching, this Friday (20th), a project that puts ATMs in GTA RolePlay. The company chose the MetaSoul server to install 74 self-service machines, where players can deposit and withdraw digital currencies -the GTA$- so that the avatar can use them in the game's ecosystem, being able to buy skins, houses, cars, clothes and others services.

The manager of digital platforms, Luiz Fernando Ribeiro Lopes, who has worked at TecBan for 11 years, points out that the company has kept up with technological developments, and saw in this metaverse project the possibility of remaining present in the lives of consumers. He highlights the pioneering nature of the project in the country, a factor that has kept the company active throughout the last decade. 

“Our idea as a company is to understand the movement of the metaverse and how the public behaves within this environment to adapt this to the essence of TecBan, with the objective of integrating the physical world with the digital one. It's a new technology, a new model of behavior, so nothing better than being close by, seeing how it works, thinking about the future of the company and creating solutions for those who are on this platform that has been growing a lot”, he points out.

Within the game, the avatar lives a life very similar to the real world, with all financial obligations, such as paying bills. Therefore, the company also became the official financial institution of the ecosystem, providing a banking application that is accessed through the virtual cell phone of the gamified character. 

TecBan is not the first essentially financial company to venture into the parallel electronic universe. Recently,  brands such as Banco do Brasil, Bradesco and Itaú have launched projects in the metaverse , with the aim of providing consumers with a differentiated experience in their banking journey. There are also several financial products that bet on  metaverse as an investment asset . 

“The metaverse has been widely discussed all over the world, not just in Brazil, and it is a segment that is beginning to consolidate itself in some areas, with the use of practical applications in day-to-day life. The financial market is no different, as it is also looking at this segment, which tends to grow. Some traditional banks have already taken action in the metaverse, and it couldn't be different with TecBan, which brings innovation in its DNA”, defines Lopes.

New ATM services

In order to keep up with everything that technological advancement has done in the real world and stay active, TecBan had to reinvent its operations and include new services in the ATMs, which are its main product. An example of this is the digital withdrawal, a feature that allows the consumer to withdraw money using the bank application, without the need for a physical card. The company also gave a new use to part of the thousands of machines installed throughout Brazil, setting up a second monitor with the display of advertising videos.

A third innovation, which focuses on online commerce, is the intelligent locker service that mediates between the delivery of a product and payment for the order. Through the technology of  smart contract -smart contracts, in Portuguese- , the locker releases the amount paid to the seller only when the item is withdrawn by the buyer. With this, the company wants to expand the coverage of marketplaces, in addition to providing more security to customers.

This is one of the initiatives approved by the Lift Challenge (Laboratory of Financial and Technological Innovations) of the Central Bank nas  discussions about Real Digital . The project brings together internet of things and smart contract technologies to give greater meaning to Brazil's future official digital currency. 

“These projects will help the Central Bank in the process of developing digital currency in the country. Therefore, we at TecBan are working hard and discussing topics such as security, confidentiality of user data and use of technologies, so that our solution is extremely efficient and makes transaction processes even more agile and uncomplicated”, says Lopes.