Cooperative Bank in Germany Unleashes Innovation with NCR’s flagship Innovation Experience Room

Volksbank eG Schwarzwald Baar Hegau is the first bank to introduce an experiential room in which customers and employees can discover and experience new technologies

Augsburg, Germany – August 17, 2016 –NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR), the global leader in omni-channel solutions, has developed a completely new concept called the NCR Innovation Experience Room, an experiential “playground” that gives financial institutions the opportunity to build digital literacy among employees and customers, enabling them to seize current megatrends in ways that are mutually beneficial to the business and their customers. Volksbank eG Schwarzwald Baar Hegau, one of the largest cooperative banks in Germany, is the first to introduce the new breakthrough concept. This mobile experiential room enables the bank’s customers and employees to shape its digital transformation with the aim to combine digital technologies and human interaction in a way that creates real added value for customers.

The NCR Innovation Experience Room give access to technologies that most people so far have only seen in the media, such as this 3D printer.

The NCR Innovation Experience Room is a flexible and versatile room that is equipped with a variety of state-of-the art technologies. These range from virtual reality headsets, 3D printers, drones, and robots, to examples of big data or Internet of Things applications and nanotechnologies. The featured technologies are exchanged after a while to keep up the attraction.

The ‘Voba Playroom’ of the Volksbank eG is designed as a mobile room that will tour the different branches of the bank in the coming months. Furthermore, it will be set up at events and trade shows to demonstrate how a regional bank creatively plays out digitalization. NCR developed the conceptual design of the innovation experience room, supplied technology and provided its expertise to the Volksbank eG. Furthermore, NCR supports the introduction phase of the VobA playroom as think-tank and coach to drive the usage of the experience.

The mobile Voba Playroom was brought into operation at the end of April and features the following bases: A NCR SelfServ 85 kiosk as an interactive assistant, a 3D printer, a multi-copter drone, Amazon Echo personal assistant, as well as virtual reality glasses with which customers can not only take a virtual roller coaster ride, but also view real estate properties in 3D. Employees and customers of Volksbank eG are already familiar with the NCR kiosks, as the bank uses them to advertise properties on the large touchscreens, allowing customers to navigate properties and corresponding mortgages with just a few swipes. As interactive assistant and selfie creator the kiosks are now generating new experiences. As the war for talents heats up, employers in rural areas have to look for new ways to stand out and provide long term strategy and vision. With the NCR Innovation Experience Room Volksbank eG demonstrates a whole new dimension in consulting and employee engagement.

Google cardboard glasses are a new way of presenting real estate properties.

The digital mirror with interactive functions helps to establish a closer relationship between customers and bank clerks

“In order to master the change in the financial industry, banks need the environment and a culture that allows and supports change,” explained Harald Heinz, Channel Area Leader in Germany, Austria and Switzerland at NCR Financial Services. “With our innovative playground the Volksbank eG has taken another step in that direction. Enabling a creative, hands-on approach to complex topics unleashes the creativity in everyday work. Banks and their customers both benefit from employees who enjoy their work and are motivated to shape and drive the future.”