Partner Sales Evangelist Driven by Love for PayPay

Professionals series showcases talented experts who support PayPay Group’s operations.
In this issue, we interviewed Yui Yamanaka, a partner sales representative who showed her immense love for PayPay at the “Sales Awards 2022,” an award ceremony conducted by the company’s sales team.

Fascinated by the People and Mindset of PayPay.

How did you become interested in PayPay?

While I was involved in a code payment gateway business (payment processing relay system) during my time in a telecommunications company, I got to communicate with PayPay employees as business partners. I found their attitude of pushing hard to achieve their goals and their trailblazing corporate strategies very appealing. It was only natural that I wanted to become one of them. Also, at my previous job, it was standard practice to be reassigned to a completely different position through job rotation, but I’m the type that wants to be extremely good at one thing. As I wanted to continue working in the payment industry, I switched over to PayPay.

As a user, I think the service is appealing, but I was even more fascinated by the people at PayPay and their mindset, and the swiftness with which they develop services. Whenever I wished a certain service existed, they were already on it.

Were there any surprises when you joined the company?

I was astonished at the rapid pace of decision-making and the high-level environment in which we can make our proposals based on accumulated big data. At my previous job, if I wanted to submit an item for discussion in the management meeting, the earliest I could do that was three months later, but in PayPay the execs could be discussing it next week.

On the other hand, the vibe in the company was just as I had imagined. If someone’s idea seems good for users, merchants, and the company, most, if not all, members are willing to help. It’s comforting not to get reined in and be told, “You don’t have to work that hard!”

Partner Sales Requires the Ability to Involve Numerous Stakeholders

Please tell us about your work

There are types of businesses where it is difficult for merchants to implement PayPay on their own. The Partner Sales Division helps expand sales in those areas through communication with partner companies. My team is in charge of unattended payments, such as vending machines and automated payment machines in parking lots. Specifically, we work mostly with the game arcade industry, but also handle bicycle sharing companies and parking lots.

In addition to negotiating with game arcade merchants and manufacturers of vending machines and automated payment machines, we work with partners like gateway companies that provide payment systems, to acquire new customers and introduce PayPay coupons.

What were some of the biggest challenges you encountered?

The first time we introduced PayPay Coupons to automated payment machines like vending machines, parking payment systems, and photo ID machines. The automated machine industry is generally used on an as-needed basis, so traditionally there have been no marketing initiatives in this field. But we decided to change that with PayPay Coupons and launched it with full capacity within two months of starting the project.

Since no one expected to introduce coupons for automated machines, we had to first solve operational maintenance and development issues, and after implementation, we focused on providing feedback so that merchants could experience the effects of our initiative.

What is the atmosphere like in your team?

It’s quite stimulating since all members always think and act proactively. Responsibilities are divided by machine type, such as beverages, parking lots, laundromats and so forth. Each person is also a specialist in their domain. While most of our members live in the Greater Tokyo area, I live in Osaka but don’t feel isolated at all! We also go out for drinks when I go to Tokyo and play golf on our days off.

Although we work fully remotely, we have daily online morning meetings at the Partner Sales Division, so I feel we are always communicating well. After sharing information and making announcements, we select a person with a roulette who then talks about a subject they freely chose. The other members ask questions and make comments, making it a good occasion to get to know each other.

PayPay Is Like My Baby

What motivates you to work hard?

I’d say my love for PayPay. I love it, I want to know more about it, and I want to tell others more about it (laughs)! I am super happy that I can help my beloved PayPay become the one and only, undisputed leading fintech company.

It is exciting to be part of a service that is loved by so many people. In addition to being highly rated in various rankings, the app is updated more than 60 times a year, and even so, development requests keep on coming in. That is proof that everyone wants to make it better, and is a telling sign that it will continue to grow. Only PayPay can create a payment service that can change society. I feel that the current PayPay as a service and its high reputation are all thanks to the teams we have now.

I’ve made it public to the merchants and partners I work with that I am a PayPay fanatic. Because of this, I try to keep in mind as much information on specifications, terms and conditions, laws, and operations as possible so that I can promptly respond to any questions that clients may have.

Are there any aspects of PayPay’s corporate culture, as represented in the 5 Senses, that you value?

What we learn here without even being aware of it are the second principle, “Speed is our bet on the market,” and the fourth, “Be sincere to be professional.” I interpret “Be sincere to be professional” to mean “be a professional and work through to the end,” and I think that’s where my personality (I get rather particular about certain things) comes into play. As for speed, it is something I acquired since I joined the company.

The 5 Sense maxim I’m consciously working on right now is the third one, “Ego is not welcome, communication is necessary.” In addition to expressing my own opinions, I also think about how they might be received and whether I can create an even better environment for my team by giving a listening ear to my colleagues.

Contributing with My Unique Talents

Is there anything you would like to accomplish in the future?

I would like to further contribute to PayPay so that our serviced become even more appreciated. I want to be a leader who can quickly grasp the direction we should head towards, think about what I can do in my area of expertise, and break new ground. You might think, “What, a sales rep?” but I think I can contribute to providing market-oriented services because I am a sales rep.

First, I need to both refine and broaden my perspective, with my radar always switched on, to deepen a wide range of my understanding of our business! That way, I can be in a position where I can share tips and knowledge with my team, while being conscious of my performance and results that can be achieved only by leveraging my experience and knowhow.

Finally, do you have a message for potential candidates?

If you want to create something fast and surprise many people with your speed, if you like coming up with ideas of your own, if you like to share ideas with others, if you want to challenge yourself, if you want to follow through projects till the end, if you like to be stimulated by people I just described, then PayPay is the right place for you!

One of the appeals of PayPay is that you can work with people from diverse backgrounds, not just those who come from the fintech or some other similar industry. Even if you are currently in a different industry, I want to encourage you take the leap.

*The recruitment status is current at the time of the interview.

Special Thanks: Yui Yamanaka / Editor: Danata / Author: PayPay Inside-Out Editorial Team / Photographer: Tak
*Employees’ affiliations are as of the time of the interview.