(Yicai Global) March 3 -- Several Chinese banks, including Bank of Ningbo and Baidu-backed Citic AiBank, have revealed their metaverse entries, focusing mostly on virtual assistants.

The group also includes China Zheshang Bank, Bank of Jiangsu, and Jiangnan Rural Commercial Bank, Yicai Global learned.

Bank of Ningbo recently applied for three trademarks with the word "metaverse." "The trademark applications are pending reviews, and we have no further plan yet," an executive at the eastern lender said to Yicai Global.

The expectations are big. Metaverse will break the boundaries of conventional banking in many aspects, creating richer consumption and transaction scenarios for clients in a virtual world, said Su Xiaorui, senior financial analyst at Analysys.

The application of technology and business models is still unclear but a fully digital world is predicted to appear to bank clients via virtual assistants. For example, Jiangnan Rural Commercial Bank has partnered with a tech firm under e-commerce giant JD.Com to roll out digital assistants that can offer transaction services.

The trend may be new but banks' goals are not. Certain lenders' metaverse efforts mostly aim to increase brand awareness through the hype so that clients would accept their fintech products, said Wang Pengbo, a senior financial analyst at BoTong Analysis.

Virtual assistants have their advantages. Human-like bots can communicate with clients 24/7 to help them with their issues while improving the institution's branding via immersive experiences and reducing its labor costs, said an employee at Jiangnan Rural Commercial Bank's information technology department.

"Customer perception, customer connection, and service presentation are three key areas promoting financial businesses' metaverse business," said a person in charge of Bank of Jiangsu's IT department. As long as lenders concentrate their efforts on user experience they can capture the core of financial services in the future, the person added.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi