Follow the money: How augmented reality could change Canadian financial services

Generally, augmented reality has been a plaything for smartphone users. Superimposing computer-generated images atop real ones carried little more than novelty value for a while, but people are starting to find real utility in it. Translation services that spot and replace signs in foreign languages with English ones on your smartphone’s screen are a good example. In the commercial sector, companies are taking things more slowly, but they are starting to bite.

RBC recently got in on the augmented reality act itself, creating its own AR app. It uses the camera, compass, and GPS to understand where the user is, and what they are looking at. It then marries this information with location data for its branches, enabling people to see an indicator representing the closest branch, along with the distance that the user would need to travel to get there. All of this information is superimposed over the video image on your smartphone screen.

Sarah Rogers, senior manager for mobile strategies at RBC, said the bank is excited about how the app could help its clients. “In the original app, we launched a branch locator,” she explains. That used a simple map to show customers where the nearest branch was, but RBC decided that it might be difficult to use, especially if a customer was from out of town, or was standing on a street corner and trying to navigate a confusing intersection.

“Now, if you want to walk east, you might want to know where the branches are that are east of you,” she explains. “It lets you turn the phone in that direction and then see where they are.”

CommerceLab asked the other banks in the Canadian big five (BMO, TD, Scotia, and CIBC) whether they were using augmented reality. Those that responded (TD and Scotia) were aware of it, but not working on anything, they said. That would come as no surprise to Srinivas Krishna, cofounder of AWE Company, based in Toronto. His firm creates augmented reality applications for a variety of clients, primarily in the retail sector.

AWE targeted financial institutions early on for its services, recalls Krishna. “Who wouldn’t? This is Canada – they’re the biggest customers on the block,” he says. “But we didn’t go there. Banks have a high degree of security requirement around whatever they do, and so it seemed like maybe that’s something we could go to a little later.”

AWE focuses on using 3D augmented reality characters in its work, as a means of enhancing customer interactions and other experiences. One example is its “Time Tablet” technology, which superimposes 3D animations on the real world, to transport tablet users back in time and let them view scenes from history. They can also interact with the characters, who are aware of their presence.

Krishna would like to see this implemented in a financial services environment. “One place where this could be applicable is for virtual ATM machines,” he explains. “There was a mechanical revolution that happened, which is what the ATM was for. Now, there is a digital revolution happening. As services are becoming more digitized, there are ways to improve the customer experience.” Why should you need to go to an ATM at all, when you can interact with a 3-D character in your home, he asks?

Making cash withdrawals and deposits aside, perhaps there would be some merit in being able to interact with a virtual teller in whichever environment you are in, reducing the need to visit a branch at all. The attraction for banks is obvious, as they could reduce a key operating overhead.

Kevin Kee, Associate VP for Research In Social Sciences and Humanities at Brock University and the Canada Research Chair in Digital Humanities, sees even more opportunities for financial institutions when they get on board. He believes that banks are already working on more advanced augmented reality applications.

“Augmented reality could be used for personal financial management to display a user’s financial situation vs what it could or should be,” he says, adding that wearable technology will play a large part in bringing augmented reality into the mainstream.

Google Glass, the wearable display that puts computer-generated images in front of your eyes and also uses a camera to relay video and take pictures, will be a key vehicle for new applications, he suggests.

Perhaps in the future, wearables will eliminate the need to carry credit cards as the user will be able to scan an item’s UPC code and have the amount automatically withdrawn from/or credited to a linked account, Kee muses. “Likely there will be apps that allow Glass wearers to scan a cheque and have it automatically deposited in their account.”

Rogers hopes that this will be away to help financial services companies work their way into more intimate relationships with customers. For example, a mortgage is isn’t the sexiest part of buying a house, she says. “It’s about your home, and your hopes and dreams for that home. How can we help you have more relevant information?” One way could be overlaying information to add value to customers about what they are seeing.

RBC seems truly committed to crafting these new relationships. In January, it released its RBC Wallet, enabling customers to pay for RBC Interact debit or credit card purchases with their phones.

It will take a while for people to be comfortable letting organizations beam more intimate customer interactions directly before their eyes. There’s a danger of feeling as though your bank is truly ‘getting in your face’. Experts in user interfaces, marketing, and law will all have to hammer out the issues. But game changing shifts in customer experiences don’t happen overnight.