Jenius, the digital bank owned by SMBC Indonesia, on Thursday (10/7) partnered with Wise Platform, a global payment infrastructure provider to make it easier to send money to more than 50 countries directly from the app within 24 hours, with low fees and friendly exchange rates.
The available currencies are quite diverse: USD, EUR, GBP, SGD, AUD, HKD, and others. All this can be done 24 hours, 7 days a week.
Febri Rusli, Digital Banking Product & Innovations Head of SMBC Indonesia, shared how the idea of this collaboration was not born from the digital banking trend alone, but the experience of people when sending money across countries.
"We heard the users' complaints: 'We don't always send big money, but often. We need a process that is fast, transparent, and the status is visible in real time, like we track online shopping packages,'" Febri said after the signing ceremony.
Since 2016, Jenius has been known as a digital bank that has many foreign currency features, ranging from buying/selling 9 currencies at competitive rates, international debit cards, to USD deposits.
However, for international transfers, Jenius still relies on the SWIFT network which, although recognized as secure and well-established, still has its limitations: the process can take up to two working days, and additional fees often appear without users realizing it.
Now, they can send money to over 50 countries directly from the app, in currencies such as USD, EUR, GBP, SGD, AUD and HKD.
While WISE itself already serves users in more than 70 countries, 65% of international transfers can arrive within 20 seconds.
"More importantly, the transfer status can be monitored in real time. That's what users like: certainty. They no longer need to ask 'has the money arrived or not?'," Febri said.
In addition, exchange rates are presented transparently, with no hidden markups. Based on Wise data, the average cost of international transfers through Wise can be up to 3-5 times lower than conventional transfers.
How Does Wise Platform & Jenius Work?
- Send money to over 50 countries & 7+ currencies (USD, EUR, GBP, SGD, AUD, HKD, etc)
- Real-time tracking: users can monitor transfer status directly on the app
- Transparent exchange rate: no hidden markups
- 65% of international transfers can arrive in ±20 seconds (based on global Wise data)
- Available 24/7, not bound by bank operating hours
- Lower average fees than conventional SWIFT transfers
Ease banking access
Nailul Huda, Director of Digital Economy at CELIOS, said that innovations like this are more suitable for those who already have access to banking and are already well-included.
"This application facilitates their transactions such as import traders who import goods independently, or people who regularly send money abroad. There must be a specific purpose, such as tuition fees, shopping, or family needs," said Huda.
However, this kind of innovation is not the only solution. Huda pointed out that currently there are also fast transfer schemes such as cross-border QRIS, which can already be used in some neighboring countries.
However, the scope is still limited, and is usually more suitable for direct shopping or retail payments, rather than transfers between personal accounts across countries.
Although the number is not yet massive, data shows that the need for international transfers is growing as global opportunities open up: from cross-border online shopping, online course payments, to children's tuition fees abroad.
Jenius itself noted that as of March 2025 there were more than 6 million active users, up 13% from the previous year. While USD is the most popular transfer currency, and Japan is the main destination for international debit card usage.
Wise's own data states that globally they have helped more than 20 million users and businesses, with an average cost lower than conventional transfers.
Editor: Tria Dianti
