Wirecard. Virtual virtual banking

Wirecard. Virtual virtual banking. German-based financial services company Wirecard recently opened up their Second Life Island.

Wirecard is basically a prepaid payment card service enabling secure and fast payment for primarily internet-based services. They also allow peer-to-peer payment and the service is validated via mobile phone.

The company doesn’t have branches in the real world, so their virtual presence is really the closest people can get to the company (and brand) in terms of interaction. It’s a neat idea. They also have (very helpful) representatives available in Second Life to explain the service and answer questions from resident visitors.

As this timeline shows, Financial Services is a category rapidly embracing virtual worlds, with companies in sub-sectors such as trading, corporate finance, real estate and consumer credit launching into Second Life to create relationships with the valuable target markets residing in it.

The K Zero Financial Services case study explains in more detail the strategies available to companies in this sector.