I used a virtual reality headset to check my bank statements. Is NatWest’s new VR app really the future of banking?

As I scan the room, I see lists of the most detailed bank account records hanging in the air before me. They contain thousands of transactions made over the past year. Welcome to the brave new world of banking, where with a flick of the wrist, you can apply for a preliminary mortgage agreement in ten minutes.

I’m at NatWest’s headquarters on Liverpool Street in London to test its new virtual reality (VR) banking app, which was launched two weeks ago.

Through the VR headset, in the centre of my field of vision is a collection of bank statements, direct debits and account balances. The centre of the screen looks exactly like the NatWest iPad app.

VR technology has long been popular with video gamers, but it’s not the best way to manage your finances.

However, NatWest assures me that the technology will give its customers, as well as those who save with Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank, a new way to manage their money at a time when banks are still steering customers towards online payments.

It marks another step away from in-person banking. Almost every month, the High Street bank announces plans to close hundreds of more branches as online services continue to replace face-to-face contact.

Lloyds, Barclays, Halifax and NatWest closed 40 branches last month, urging customers to use live chats, digital assistants and mobile phone apps.

The VR app offers customers even more competitive savings rates than those they can get over the phone, by post or even in branch, although these rates are also available online and via the app.

Wendy Redshaw, digital information director at NatWest Group, believes VR banking will provide “one glimpse into what the future of banking could look like”.

NatWest is the first High Street bank to use it in this way. “It’s great to be a pioneer with such exciting new technology,” he says. The headset takes a few minutes to set up, and after a few attempts to log in to one of NatWest’s test accounts, the app is up and running. I can see the suspended test account on the semi-transparent 3D screen in front of me.

It works smoothly and without any interruptions.

The virtual and real worlds blend seamlessly, and I place the rectangle with my bank information on the left side of my body so I can still see my surroundings.

At first, it felt like I was wearing heavy ski goggles, and as my eyes adjusted to the headset’s internal screen, I started to feel nauseous.

I take the headset outside to see how it works, but a sharp turn sends me crashing headlong into a tree, hidden behind my bank details.

After getting my bearings, I sweep my right index finger up and down in the air in front of me at shoulder height to review a list of all the debit card payments on my test account over the past few weeks.

Thanks to the headset’s motion sensors, I can control the screen by simply moving my wrist. It takes a few minutes to learn each hand gesture and the commands they correspond to, but once I’ve mastered them, I can open and close windows and navigate between web pages in seconds.

Swiping left opens another window where I can break my spending down into 12 categories, including transportation, eating out, and groceries, and set budgets for each. Then I swipe over the purple button on the left side of the page, which opens a menu of products I can claim.

I’m shocked to discover that I can get a credit card, a loan, and even apply for a mortgage in less than ten minutes using a headset. All it takes is a little pointing in the air or a pinch of my fingers to close the screens.

Needing advice, I ask NatWest’s virtual assistant Cora to help me close a savings account that no longer offers a competitive rate. Typing my query on the virtual keyboard, which hovers at about waist height, proves difficult and takes significantly longer than on my computer.

Apoorva Varma Mehta, the creator of the VR banking app, suggests I try controlling the keys with my eyes, but that only works for people who don’t wear glasses or contact lenses, and unfortunately I have to have one of those devices with me at all times.

Several features of the mobile banking app are not yet available in the VR version, including the ability to scan a check with the camera to deposit it into your bank account. The VR banking app also lacks some security measures, so users must log in with a passcode.

While the technology is impressive, Apoorva admits it’s unlikely to become popular overnight. “We had 10 downloads in the first week,” she admits.

“Only a small group of people will be able to use the headset for banking because it is very expensive. “At the moment, we think it will mainly be wealthy people and tech bloggers who want to use it.”

The software can only be used on the Apple Vision Pro Virtual Reality headset, which costs £3,499. Apoorva stresses that while adoption is slow, the device could pave the way for future banking solutions.

“We are still in the early stages of experimentation and trying to understand what possibilities this new technology creates,” he says.

“This is by no means a solution that will replace telephone banking.”