Several people were impressed, and many were ‘unaware that a financial institution was dabbling in so many immersive experiences.’

That is the feedback which banking officials of CIBC Caribbean received from visitors to their booth at the recently concluded AnimeKon 2024, that was held at the Garfield Sobers Gymnasium.

The event, for which the bank was a platinum sponsor, was entitled, ‘Clash of the Titans’ and featured pop-culture and entertainment including anime, comics, gaming, film, television and cosplay with a Caribbean flair.

Some patrons who were keen on gaming, donned the CIBC Caribbean’s special head set and entered the metaverse where they tried to win, as they traversed different worlds.

Shane Prescott is one of the bank’s senior analysts, and a member of the bank’s innovation network TIFF, a forum that aims to create value through innovation as a practice, behaviour and identity throughout the bank. The name of the bank’s avatar, Tiffany, was coined from the name of this network. Shane., explained that the game was aimed at driving awareness around the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, therefore, while it was entertaining, it was also educational as players moved into the various areas, collecting items of each goal as they progressed, to try and win the game.

Overall, Prescott said the booth showcased how the bank drove innovation with respect to its products and services. It also highlighted the fact that the bank was positively responding to changing times and continued to look for new ways to make its daily functioning and processes simple and efficient for its customers.