Around the World with PayPay is a series of articles featuring our global workplace, with people gathered from approximately 40 countries around the world. The article consists of two parts: “FROM OUTSIDE” (published every first Thursday of the month) focuses on a comparison between Japan and the interviewee’s home country. “FROM INSIDE” (published every second Friday of the month) focuses on experiences within PayPay.
Continuing on from the last issue, we’ve sat down with Khiem Nguyen from Viet Nam!
Don’t forget to check out past issues too.
* The Japanese version of the article is available here.
Aerin Riangkruar
Product Designer
Country：Bangkok, Thailand / Years in Japan：5years / What do you do at PayPay：Product Designer / Location(where do you live currently)：Kanagawa, Kawasaki
“Doing what you like is freedom, liking what you do is happiness”
And it’s on “Design Chit-Chat“!
How are payments done in your country?
Surprisingly in Bangkok, code payments are really popular! Even the roadside stores accept code payments. I was really surprised when I saw a temple with a two-dimensional code for donations.
Why did you join PayPay?
When I first met the design team during the first interview, I knew right away that I wanted to work with them. Rather than having a serious formal interview, we had a lot of fun talking about designs and the difficulties we all face as designers. They had very nice smiles on their faces during the interview. So even though working at PayPay means keeping pace with deadlines that come and go at the speed of light, everyone in the team cares about the quality of different products and enjoys making it better for users.
What’s the best thing about working at PayPay?
The best thing about PayPay is the people ! Everyone is so talented and passionate about making PayPay a lovable product. Designers, project managers and engineers gather to share ideas on how to tackle issues and improve usability all the time.
Of all of the companies I’ve worked with, I think the PayPay design team is the nicest team with a good combination of people from different backgrounds and nationalities. We help each other review designs and share ideas on how we think the design could be improved. At the same time we also hang out like family!
How is a normal working day for you at PayPay?
- 7:30
- Wake up to have breakfast with family
- 8:30
- Watch the morning news while sipping coffee
- 9:30
- Start work – create some illustrations to get my brain started for the day
- 10:30
- Daily meeting with the UX Lab team to discuss the user interview process
- 12:30
- Cycle to my favorite local bread store
- 15:00
- Attend a workshop with PMs to brainstorm on the next round of improvements
- 17:00
- Focus time for design work
- 19:00
- Get off work and prepare dinner
What do you think was the biggest positive impact of PayPay in Japan?
When I started working in Japan 5 years ago, the country was still very much a cash-based society. So when code payments were first introduced, there were a lot of complaints about how complicated and difficult the services were.
Thanks to PayPay though, code payments and cashless payments have become part of the Japanese daily life. People are using it to pay for things, parents are using it to send pocket money to their kids, and stores use it to promote discounts. I sometimes encounter store clerks who try to give me tips on how to use PayPay. (laughs)
It is definitely an exciting time to be in a fintech company – working for PayPay. I’m excited to see how PayPay will continue to further improve Japanese society.
Hope you enjoyed reading about Aerin!
See current job openings here
*The recruitment status is current at the time of the interview.
Special Thanks: Aerin Riangkruar / Author: Naoko / Managing Editor: Az
*Employees’ affiliations are as of the time of the interview.
