In the metaverse, individuals interact much as they do in the physical world, using digital avatars to represent themselves, connect socially, and participate in virtual communities. Users access the metaverse through interfaces such as VR headsets, controllers, and other immersive devices. As adoption increases, the experience layer will expand with new use cases and applications, eventually integrating into everyday life. Key application areas include:

Remote work: virtual environments enable avatar-based communication, collaboration, and interaction, fostering productive remote work cultures.

Healthcare: the metaverse can eliminate geographic barriers, allowing patients to access leading institutions worldwide. Applications include remote consultations, medical training, surgical preparation, and virtual operating simulations.

Education: immersive learning environments offer enhanced engagement and interactivity. Several universities already employ metaverse platforms to deliver enriched educational experiences.

Tourism: VR allows travelers to preview destinations and explore hotels before booking.

Retail and shopping: metaverse-based commerce enhances customer engagement and loyalty. Brands increasingly use NFTs and AI-driven insights to personalize shopping experiences.

Real estate: virtual property tours using 3D visualization enable remote inspection and improve decision-making.

Agriculture: AR and VR support remote farm monitoring, real-time assessment of inventory and environmental conditions, and improved operational management.

Extended Reality (XR)—which includes AR and VR—enhances metaverse experiences through specialized devices such as AR smart glasses, haptic systems, holographic displays, and VR headsets. These devices enable users to interact with digital environments intuitively and seamlessly.

Key components include:

VR headsets: these devices employ computer vision, eye tracking, and hand tracking to deliver immersive audiovisual experiences. AR smart glasses and contact lenses further blur the boundaries between physical and virtual worlds.

Haptics: haptic gloves and devices provide tactile feedback, enabling users to feel pressure, texture, and even temperature changes in virtual environments.

Holographic displays: using advanced light technologies, holographic displays integrate 3D content into the physical environment, enhancing realism across industries beyond gaming.

Omnidirectional treadmills: these devices allow 360-degree movement in virtual spaces, enabling users to walk, run, kick objects, or follow paths within VR environments.

The virtualization engine encompasses programming engines, computing engines, virtual platforms, and various development tools essential for building the metaverse.

Key technologies include:

AI: AI enhances blockchain-based metaverse environments by generating realistic virtual worlds and analyzing user activity to improve experiences.

Computer vision: this AI branch extracts meaningful information from images and videos, enabling XR devices to recognize user actions and interpret physical surroundings.

Avatar creation: avatars generated from selfies or user inputs enable personalized identity representation. Industries such as fashion use hyper-realistic avatars for virtual shows and brand engagement.

Volumetric video: multi-angle capture creates 3D video content suitable for virtual concerts, gaming, and immersive events.

3D design engines: game engines and design tools create high-fidelity 3D environments and serve as foundational tools for advanced metaverse development.

3D modeling: widely used in e-commerce and real estate, 3D modeling enables interactive product visualization and virtual property exploration.

The metaverse supports a growing creator economy in which digital tools enable the production and exchange of digital assets, typically transacted through cryptocurrencies and supported by blockchain technology. Key components include:

Blockchain: a decentralized, immutable ledger that records all transactions in the metaverse. It enables secure ownership of NFTs and ensures the integrity of virtual goods.

DCs and cryptocurrencies: DCs support metaverse transactions, while cryptocurrencies—secured by blockchain—offer enhanced cybersecurity and decentralized operation.

Crypto wallets: users access decentralized environments through wallets that store digital assets and serve as unique identifiers.

Payments: blockchain-based payment systems facilitate Decentralized Finance (DeFi) services and cryptocurrency transactions.

Cryptocurrency exchanges: these platforms allow users to buy, sell, and trade digital assets.

NFTs: NFTs represent unique digital objects—such as avatar accessories, videos, and virtual land—and form the backbone of virtual economic activity.

The metaverse requires extensive data processing capabilities and minimal latency. The following technologies play a central role in sustaining seamless, large-scale virtual environments:

5G networks: high-bandwidth, low-latency 5G networks support immersive applications and real-time rendering, enabling smooth AR/VR experiences. Decentralized blockchain nodes further enhance security and transactional efficiency.

Cloud infrastructure: cloud platforms host virtual worlds, store massive datasets, and process high-resolution graphics and AI workloads before streaming them to user devices.

Chips and processors: metaverse devices require high-performance, energy-efficient processors capable of supporting advanced graphics and AI in lightweight form factors.

Edge computing: by processing data near the user, edge computing reduces latency and supports real-time interactions, saving bandwidth and improving data security.

IoT and robotics: IoT sensors collect real-world data that can update and enhance virtual environments. Sensor Service Providers (SSPs) can supply live data feeds to Virtual Service Providers (VSPs) to maintain dynamic virtual ecosystems.

Korean financial institutions were among the first to invest in the metaverse by establishing virtual offices. Kookmin Bank (KB), one of South Korea’s largest financial institutions, launched the KB Metaverse VR branch to offer banking, education, and training services. Similarly, the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) plans to establish a virtual bank, IBK Dotori, on the Cyworld Z platform, enabling financial services through its virtual currency, Dotori [31]. These early initiatives allow banks to explore future opportunities and identify the technological infrastructure required to support virtual operations.

Following these developments, global institutions such as HSBC and JP Morgan have acquired land in Decentraland to expand their virtual presence. JP Morgan opened the Onyx Lounge in a virtual Tokyo shopping district [32], and HSBC launched a metaverse investment portfolio for its Asian clients [33]. Standard Chartered also purchased virtual land in Sandbox in March 2022 [34] to create a Hong Kong-inspired cultural hub. As traditional banks close physical branches, the metaverse may offer an alternative form of virtual “face-to-face” interaction. However, banks may face challenges in attracting customers to virtual venues such as the Onyx Lounge, where user activity remains limited [35], [36].

Fidelity established the Fidelity Base in the metaverse to engage young investors and promote ETFs. HSBC also announced further collaboration with Sandbox to deliver new virtual customer experiences. Such initiatives indicate that banks and fintechs have significant room to innovate in the metaverse.

A prominent example of the future direction of virtual financial services is EQI Bank, founded in 2015 as a digital bank offering conventional banking alongside DeFi on a unified platform. Through its EQIFI DeFi platform, the bank bridges traditional and digital assets while maintaining a regulated banking license [37], [38]. EQIBank cardholders can use virtual currencies for physical purchases and fiat currencies to access digital assets in virtual environments [39], [40]. The bank also enables users to purchase virtual land on the Polka City platform using liquid cryptocurrencies instead of native POLC tokens, with the option to exchange them for Bitcoin via secondary markets [41]. This approach addresses liquidity issues associated with NFTs and some cryptocurrencies. POLC tokens may also be converted into fiat currency, allowing debit card holders to transact in the physical world. Moreover, EQIBank provides loans for virtual asset purchases in exchange for physical assets [37], [38] and plans to establish branches across different platforms to improve interoperability among NFTs.

Another example is the Index Coop crypto investment platform, which introduced the Metaverse Index (MVI). Built on Ethereum’s ERC-20 protocol, MVI includes metaverse-related tokens used in virtual sports, gaming, and trading, offering simplified investment processes, reduced risk, and enhanced transparency [42]. Additionally, platforms such as NFTfi have launched virtual mortgages backed by NFT collateral [43].

Economic and financial developments in the metaverse provide a foundation for anticipating the future of financial services. Metaverse-based financial services aim to support seamless transactions, instant access to resources, and efficient management of virtual assets [35]. Achieving this requires instant virtual payment systems, fair cryptocurrency exchange rates, and effective management of complex digital wealth portfolios and customer big data. Based on these objectives, metaverse foresight includes short-, medium-, and long-term scenarios.

Metaverse evolution is progressing toward the Digital Twins phase and eventually the Digital Natives phase. The Digital Twins phase involves creating virtual replicas of physical environments, while brands, companies, and financial institutions establish virtual locations mirroring their real-world presence. The next phase will introduce virtual worlds without physical counterparts, increasing the demand for digital assets and virtual real estate. Metaverse finance is expected to operate primarily on DeFi systems, supplemented initially by centralized financial protocols. Financial institutions may serve as intermediaries during the early stages. In the short term, the metaverse economy must manage volatility in digital assets such as cryptocurrencies and NFTs due to limited regulation. Over time, these markets are expected to mature and stabilize. Tokenized assets may be bundled into portfolios to mitigate volatility and serve as collateral [44], [45].

Significant investments by large technology companies suggest that industry giants could dominate virtual world ownership, creating barriers to entry for smaller firms. Money supply within the metaverse—primarily DCs—may be difficult to regulate without central bank oversight. Financial institutions may therefore play a stabilizing role by providing liquidity. They must also prepare to manage digital money such as in-game tokens, stablecoins, and CBDCs.

Data governance is expected to remain a central challenge due to the enormous volume of sensitive data generated in the metaverse. Protocols for data collection, ownership, and distribution will significantly influence virtual finance. Lessons from open finance initiatives point toward granting users greater control over their data, allowing for personalized financial products. Managing large data volumes may require techniques such as K-means clustering, vector quantization, and advanced error detection. AI will be essential for processing big data and automating associated tasks [44].

Smooth financial flows across decentralized platforms require interoperability among cryptocurrencies and wallets. Financial institutions may address this challenge by maintaining a presence across multiple metaverse platforms, enabling exchange among cryptocurrencies and NFTs. Products that operate across both physical and virtual realms will be essential—for example, debit and credit cards that support both fiat and virtual currencies. Digital wallets should be linked to real-world bank accounts, and virtual mortgages should be collateralized by either NFTs or physical assets. “Real-world NFTs” may tokenize physical objects, allowing purchases in the metaverse and enabling DeFi loans backed by tangible assets.

Growing technological complexity will require extensive training for both customers and financial professionals. Financial institutions are expected to launch more virtual offices and use avatars for customer interaction, necessitating expertise in immersive technologies such as VR and AR [46]. Attracting users may require additional engagement mechanisms such as games or virtual goods sales.

Managing complex digital portfolios—including NFTs, cryptocurrencies, and other virtual assets—will require advanced robo-advisory and AI-driven systems. Identity verification in avatar-based environments poses challenges; persistent, verifiable digital credentials and zero-knowledge proofs may provide secure authentication mechanisms. Financial institutions may also offer escrow-like services for digital wallets, similar to securing valuables in physical vaults. Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) can further enhance security and build customer trust.

Ethical considerations must guide each stage of metaverse development. Financial service providers must prepare for cybersecurity threats by adopting blockchain-based solutions and emerging technologies such as quantum computing. Competition from major technology firms such as Meta, Amazon, and Alphabet is expected to intensify as they expand into metaverse-based financial services. Consequently, financial institutions should prioritize workforce upskilling and investments in new technologies [44].

In the long term, the metaverse is envisioned as a unified ecosystem where currently separate platforms converge into a single interconnected virtual world. Users may carry out core daily activities—studying, working, and socializing—entirely within virtual environments. New cultural and ethical norms will emerge, shaping how individuals consume, interact, and communicate. The metaverse economy will likely develop into a global marketplace that increases customer access but also introduces high levels of competition, potentially consolidating market dominance among a few major players. Furthermore, AI may automate many workflows, reducing or even eliminating human involvement in certain financial processes [44].

The financial sector will undergo profound changes as payment services become fully integrated into virtual environments, allowing users to access real-world facilities without leaving the metaverse. Increasing use of AI, algorithmic systems, and Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) technologies may further automate financial services and simplify transactions. In the long run, the traditional role of financial service providers may diminish as advanced technologies support fully automated financial ecosystems.

In virtual environments where digital products and NFTs are regularly exchanged, accounting and auditing remain essential to measure and classify metaverse economic activities. NFTs pose unique accounting challenges related to revenue recognition and determining appropriate accounting treatments for development costs, which may be capitalized, deferred, or expensed [47]. Virtual branches also raise issues regarding their legal and financial independence and accounting structures. VR technologies can enhance accountants’ and auditors’ skills by simulating real-world scenarios, improving communication, leadership, and teamwork capabilities [1], [48].

The presence of independent companies in the metaverse and the publication of financial reports for virtual stakeholders require continued auditor participation. Integration of VR and blockchain technologies is expected to transform the audit process fundamentally. Auditors will need deep knowledge of accounting information systems and internal controls for metaverse-based firms. Instead of costly and time-consuming travel, auditors can conduct virtual site visits, improving efficiency and enhancing security [4]. The metaverse also enables real-time collaboration between auditors and managers through VR tools. Opportunities for accounting and auditing include services for virtual businesses, virtual audits, big data analysis, financial consulting, and the development of new accounting tools [1]. At the same time, security concerns, regulatory frameworks, and the need for new professional skills represent major challenges.