TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jenius, the digital banking platform of Indonesia’s PT Bank SMBC Indonesia, has expanded its foreign currency offering by adding the Saudi riyal.
The update is aimed at supporting Indonesians traveling for umrah and the hajj, two of the world’s largest annual religious pilgrimages.
“We launched a new foreign currency, the Saudi riyal, two days ago,” said Irwan Tisnabudi, Head of Digital Banking at SMBC Indonesia, during the SMBC Indonesia TechConnect event at Lotte Shopping Avenue in Jakarta on Monday, November 24, 2025.
He noted that customers preparing for travel to Saudi Arabia can now buy, sell, and use riyals directly through the Jenius app at any time.
With the riyal added, Jenius now offers ten foreign currencies widely used by Indonesian travelers, students, and cross-border digital consumers. These include the U.S. dollar, Australian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Singapore dollar, euro, British pound, Japanese yen, Chinese yuan, and Thai baht.
Irwan also highlighted Jenius’ ongoing push to integrate artificial intelligence, a growing trend among digital banks worldwide that are working to enhance security and user experience.
“It is not just about shifting offline processes online. The online experience must be better than the offline one, especially with the help of technology and AI,” he said.
Jenius now applies AI across three main customer touchpoints: onboarding, transactions, and customer service.
In the registration stage, the platform uses biometric liveness detection and device intelligence to strengthen identity verification. When users make transactions, AI monitors activity in real time to detect suspicious behavior. In customer service, AI powers the app’s chatbot to deliver faster and more automated assistance.
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