It will be known as DBS Betterworld and will be open to all, including DBS customers, at no charge.
Sandbox, a decentralized virtual game environment built on Ethereum, and the largest bank in Singapore are collaborating on the project.
DBS will purchase a 3×3 plot of land in The Sandbox Metaverse, built with realistic objects including structures, plants and animals.
It will also buy carbon offsets so that land and construction on Betterworld, in addition to the sandbox, is carbon neutral.
Betterworld will be accessible when The Sandbox releases its Metaverse in full, perhaps next year.
Having just launched its third and biggest season last month, the blockchain gaming platform has so far introduced a three-season-multi-week trial program that lets users of the sandbox account try out new features.
The Metaverse, which enables users to connect through characters or avatars and buy things using real estate or virtual currency, has been heralded as the Internet of the future.
Motion-sensing technology also contributes to the live nature of these experiences, allowing users to interact with other avatars through touch and speech.
tech-enabled biggest financial development
According to Piyush Gupta, Chief Executive, DBS, the biggest development in the financial sector has come from technological improvements during the last ten years.
“In the coming decade, driven by new technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain, these changes have the potential to become even more profound. Metaverse technology, along with the way banks interact with customers and communities, is still evolving. Given the speed of change, experimentation and teaching-learning enables us to best test the potential of different technologies,” according to Gupta.
According to Gupta, the bank will be able to share information about critical environmental, social and governance (ESG) challenges and highlight partners and communities working to address them through DBS Betterworld.
Platform will be used to promote social entrepreneurs
For example, the platform will be used to showcase social entrepreneurs in Asia who are making a good social impact through creative business strategies.
Over 800 social companies have received support from DBS and the DBS Foundation to expand their operations in the region.
Nearly 100 social entrepreneurs have received a total of more than $10 million.
The bank said it will collaborate with partners in the public, private, non-profit and corporate sectors on ideas to improve the Betterworld experience.
Additionally, it will be exploring ways to use its LiveBetter platform, which was introduced in October to promote eco-aware living among its consumers, to showcase Betterworld.
LiveBetter customers have access to resources for sustainable living, ways to give to charities, and opportunities to invest in funds with a sustainability focus.
DBS Bank is the first bank to enter the metaverse
DBS is the first local bank to enter the metaverse and the first Singapore corporation to collaborate with Sandbox.
In March, HSBC became the first international bank to collaborate with The Sandbox, a division of Hong Kong-based game development and venture capital firm Animoca Brands.
Sebastian Bourget, co-founder of The Sandbox and its chief operating officer, said DBS joins the platform’s initiative to create Singaporeverse, a neighborhood on its virtual map that will bring the country’s culture to life in the metaverse.
“ESG issues are important to us, and we look forward to collaborating on an experience that invites our audiences to make a positive global impact, to discover the creative possibilities of our platform, and perhaps to create our own in the metaverse.” To find the next life-changing opportunity,” he said.
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