Volksbank eG pioneers NCR Innovation Experience Room
Voba Playroom: Google glasses are a new way of presenting real estate properties
NCR Corporation has introduced “a completely new concept” – NCR Innovation Experience Room – an “experimental playground” for financial institutions to “build digital literacy among employees and customers”.
Germany-based Volksbank eG Schwarzwald Baar Hegau has become the first taker. It has introduced an experiential room where customers and employees can discover and experience new technologies. The project is known as “Voba Playroom”.
Volksbank eG has equipped the room with “a variety of state-of-the-art technologies”, NCR says, “from virtual reality headsets, 3D printers, drones, and robots, to examples of big data or internet of things applications and nanotechnologies”.
It features the NCR SelfServ 85 kiosk as an interactive assistant, a 3D printer, a multi-copter drone, Amazon Echo personal assistant, virtual reality glasses with which customers can take a virtual roller coaster ride and view real estate properties in 3D.
Voba Playroom: A virtual roller coaster ride builds the digital literacy of employees
NCR developed the conceptual design of Voba Playroom, supplied technology and provided its expertise to the Volksbank eG. The vendor also says it “supports the introduction phase of the Voba playroom as think-tank and coach to drive the usage of the experience”.
Voba Playroom is mobile and will be touring the bank’s branches in the coming months as well as taking part at fintech events and trade shows.
“Our view of the world is changing dramatically under the influence of megatrends such as globalisation, connectivity and communitisation,” says Thomas Bader, head of business development at Volksbank eG.
He hopes that Voba Playroom will motivate the bank’s customers to come into the branches and try out the latest tech “that most of us only know from media reports”.
Bader adds that it also sends out a strong message to both customers and employees that the bank is “thinking about future developments” and “breaking new, creative grounds involving all parties”.
Volksbank eG is one of the largest co-operative banks in Germany, with nearly 55,000 members. It employs 463 people and has 27 branches and 11 self-service locations.
