Tech Talks vol.24 – Payment Read

About Tech Talks

In this Tech Talks series, we will share with you the attitude and vibe of the PayPay Tech Team through the voices of the unique product members from around 50 countries! This time, we interviewed Gosia Politowska from the Payment Read Team.

What does the Payment Read Team do and what is its mission?

The Payment Read Team is responsible for maintaining the data of transactions made via PayPay, then providing users with payment history and aggregate transaction data, and creating reports for merchants. We create the backend so that users can see their monthly PayPay spending and merchants can see their sales by period.
Our team is also in charge of creating things like daily and monthly reports for merchants. Based on the file format we send to merchants, we send them basically every day a summary of all transactions that took place the previous day. We are a multinational team of around 10 members!

What are your challenges as a team?

One of our challenges is reducing the number of components that we manage. We are engaged in multiple services, so we have to deal with many components at any given time. The multiple services we are responsible for require constant attention. This includes monitoring performance as new features are added or when new requests are made.
That’s why we actively rewrite and redesign components to solve this challenge. By reducing the number of components that need to be monitored, we can free up bandwidth that could be allocated to other tasks.

Another challenge that we face is maintaining the code from early stages into something suitable for the current scale of the company’s growth. The initial code is no longer suitable for our ever-changing requirements. Because we rapidly add new features, the code needs to be improved to be more scalable.
Sometimes we add on top of existing code if it’s feasible, otherwise we redesign the entire microservice to a more scalable and sustainable version. We already rewrote one and are just commencing on the next one.
In this work, I am mainly in charge of creating a PoC (Proof of Concept) for the new system and testing the Kafka Streams technology. I also review other team members’ code, help my team members with their tasks, and make small improvements and bug fixes.

Rewriting code does not have manifest benefits for users in the short term. It’s more to improve long-term stability so that users don’t notice that something has changed in the backend.
In addition to changing the stream processing technology, altering the data storage technology also leads to cost reduction, which benefits the company.
Also, we want our system rewrites to follow good practices of clean code. This makes it easier for new team members to understand how the systems work and has the added benefit of reducing the time it takes to master the systems as the learning curve is made shallow.

Please tell us about your team!

The Payment Read Team is an amazing team with a culture of mutual support! Thanks to regular communication, the team has a good atmosphere and we are constantly laughing. Each person also has strong ownership.
I think trusting your teammates is really important. Knowing that my colleagues trust me helps me take ownership of my tasks and induces me to do my best.
And my team believes that if someone fails, it’s important to never blame them but learn from those slip-ups. I’d say that is one crucial factor in teamwork.

What is the key to building teamwork in a remote environment?

Open communication! It’s important to report the progress of tasks, but I think it’s also very important to tell the team when you run into problems or get stuck. Consulting with colleagues immediately rather than worrying about it alone may be the key to a smooth telecommuting experience.
We regularly get together in person, such as gathering in the office once a month for lunch. Other than that, we talk on Slack and Zoom, maintaining close communication, so even if we live far away we don’t notice the distance.

What challenge do you want to take on in the future?

As we are now in the midst of rewriting the code of the system, I want to first see this project through!
After this, I would like to develop any new features to be delivered in the best possible way, with no technical debt, while keeping the code clean. Because if I could do that, we could deliver even more services to our users!
To that end, it’s important to occasionally look back and fix technical debt, despite us working on many new features at a fast pace. I want to improve the convenience and stability of the systems, and at the same time strike the perfect balance between speed and quality!

What do you value most in your work?

Not too long ago, it was important for me to take on technical challenges, learn new technologies, build my track record, and be on top of the tech stack.
But what’s important to me now is a sense of purpose—to create something of value for users, the company, and developers. I think that’s what makes what I do fulfilling.
When doing any kind of development, it is very important for me to first clarify the purpose and then work towards it as a team!

What is attractive about working at PayPay?

Outside of my daily tasks, the WFA (Work From Anywhere At Anytime) system! Personally, I think this system is the best! I can build meaningful relationships with team members remotely while enjoying life in my favorite city, Kyoto! Being able to work anywhere is great. I enjoy going to the park with my laptop, sitting under the cherry blossom trees, and working in a beautiful environment. Since I don’t need to commute, I have more time for myself.

Another fun factor of working at PayPay is that it’s easy to take the initiative. When we find something that needs improvement, we can pitch an idea and execute. We don’t always have the time and resources to do that, but the workplace is certainly a place where you can challenge yourself whenever you want.

A message for our readers!

The speed required by PayPay is very fast, so be prepared for it (laughs)! And don’t be afraid to try. It’s an environment where anyone can voice their opinion, so it might be a good idea to start out with small initiatives and improvements. Of course, if it is something that benefits users, the company, and developers, you may be able to launch a large project!
If you are open-minded and are eager to learn new things, you would fit just fine in PayPay. We work with so many different technologies so you will need to learn fast. It’s also a fantastic environment if you are not afraid to take on challenges!

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

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