Dubai: Brands and consumers are already making it to the metaverse – and an Abu Dhabi based payments processing company is wasting no time to join them. Magnati, owned by Brookfield and UAE mega-bank FAB, is the one making the step, with the aim to be a ‘leading player in the Middle East’s ecommerce metaverse space’.
But why rush to get into metaverse, an AR (augmented reality) landscape that is in various stages of formation. Wouldn’t the payments side of things take longer?
“Currently, e-commerce merchants face challenges like high returns to sales, exchanges and drop in sales due to dissatisfaction in customer experience,” said Ramana Kumar, CEO of Magnati. “Many customers face a similar experience where the product they receive does not match what they expected.
“Given these challenges, this is exactly the right time for the metaverse and the next generation of e-commerce – ‘experiential commerce’, which enables customers to experience products and services before they buy.”
A ‘marketplace’
The new initiative - Magnati-MetaV - is billed as the first metaverse marketplace in the region and enables users to experience e-commerce in an ‘immersive way’. There’s ‘richer’ visual and sensory information, as well as “improved quality of information, so that they can shop, learn, play games, attend concerts and more through a seamless online experience,” the CEO added.
“Launching Magnati-MetaV now gives us a first-mover advantage in a sector with huge market opportunity,” Kumar added. “We are excited to be a pioneer in building a technologically advanced platform that has massive benefits for both merchants and consumers. We are inviting merchants to join the platform and be part of the metaverse revolution.”
The Magnati-MetaV way
- The new platform will work with merchants and partners to co-create virtual experiences and stores.
- Hotels will be a key user base. Hotels can create virtual experience in the online environment that enables consumers to see and feel exactly the rooms they will be offered. The same applies for retail brands and retail offerings - consumers will be able to virtually browse the store, seamlessly try items on their avatars and make purchases through the platform.
- Magnati-MetaV users can also purchase tickets and sign up for events to attend virtual concerts, sporting events and educational courses.
Get a feel of merchandise
The Magnati-MetaV platform will allow customers to see and feel retail offerings in a wholly new and convenient way online. “The metaverse’s hyper-realism enables customers to virtually experience a product, providing a brand-new functionality that seeks to help retailers reduce sales cancellations, returns and exchanges,” the CEO said.
In a nod to existing ways, Magnati-MetaV will be fully integrated with traditional ‘payment rails and gateways’. Payment for products and services can be made through cards, wallets and other existing digital form factors.
While shopping in Magnati-MetaV will feel new, the payment experience will be familiar and act as a bridge between the two-dimensional and three-dimensional worlds.”
“The opportunity lies in creating an end-to-end experience for a purchase transaction,” said Kumar. “Magnati-MetaV provides a platform that creates multi-dimensional experiences and integrates commerce. To encourage adoption of new technologies, bridges with existing models are required for smoother transition. Magnati-MetaV is hence seamlessly integrating existing and futuristic payment gateway rails for customers to pay and purchase.”
