At PayPay, we use data and technology to make money more accessible and convenient. In this series, we will show you what we as a company want to do and the vision we have for enriching people’s lives through easy access to financial services that meet changing needs as we all advance through different life stages. For this issue, we talked with Yoshinori Kanda.
Find other articles about PayPay’s financial business here.
Yoshinori Kanda
Finance Business Strategy Division
I joined Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance right after graduating university and worked at the corporate sales and planning department. Also, I was stationed in the United States for a while. Following the experience in Silicon Valley, I started to feel that I wanted to enhance business development skills, so I moved to Recruit, where I was responsible in developing financial businesses. I joined PayPay in November 2021.
Tell us about your current responsibilities
As a member of the Business Development Team, I am working on the digital salary payment system that is expected to be launched in the future, and developing new services in the financial area for PayPay users.
What do you find fulfilling, fun, and interesting about your work?
It is very rewarding to have the possibility to change the world through PayPay. I used to think, “What will the future of finance look like?” But now I think, “How can we create the future of finance?” Although we still have much to go, I am working every day thinking about such big things. In addition to that, the word “finance” covers a wide range of topics, so it is interesting to catch up on knowledge of industries I haven’t experienced before (although it is tough…).
So what is the hardest part of your job?
It is fun to work on something new, but it certainly isn’t easy…. Since we are working on something that has no precedent, there is no established way of working, and assumptions can change suddenly, so I’m living an exciting life (laughs).
Anything about the culture of your department & team that you want to highlight?
We have a culture of not giving up easily. We consider how to realize the plan and keep moving forward at any rate. Of course, we often get unfavorable results, but we think that the accumulation of such challenges leads to new breakthroughs.
How do you find working at PayPay compared to your time at a financial institution?
While PayPay offers us flexible work styles, such as flextime without core hours and WFA (Work From Anywhere At Anytime), I believe that we are expected to have a high awareness of work output.
Also, when I was at a financial institution, I often socialized with people at the company outside of work, like going out for drinks after work, but I feel that it is difficult to build such relationships when we work from home. Having said that, I don’t take this as a negative and I’m beginning to enrich my personal life without depending on the work environment.
What would you like to do at PayPay in the future?
I would like to launch services and businesses from scratch, referring to examples overseas. PayPay is open to trying new things, so I would like to take advantage of this environment and actively develop projects.
Please give a message to those interested in joining PayPay!
We are a company that seriously considers how to create the future of finance and tries to realize it. We face many difficulties because we are tackling projects which have no past examples, but I believe this is the perfect place for those who are excited by the idea of “creating the future of finance.” Let’s do it together!
Currently available positions
Special Thanks: Yoshinori Kanda / Planning: Misako Ichikura / Editor: Az (PayPay Inside-Out Editorial Team) / Translator: Language Communication Team / Translation Editor: Justin
*Employees’ affiliations are as of the time of the interview.
