Striving to Establish a Business that Will “Wow” Japan: Ambitions of the Finance Business Promotion Department

The “Professionals” series showcases talented experts who support PayPay Group’s operations. In this interview, we talked with Keita Takahara, Senior Manager of the Finance Business Promotion Department. The Finance Business Promotion Department is responsible for operating and promoting PayPay’s credit card business, which is one of the three pillars of PayPay’s financial business. We discussed the background to why he chose PayPay as his next place of adventure after working at a regional bank in his hometown. We also asked him about his current job and the unique and rewarding aspects of working at PayPay.

Ditching Stability for a More Challenging Environment

What made you consider switching companies?

One big reason for this was getting involved in a code payment business at my previous job, when I was seconded from a bank to an Indonesian company. Outside of Japan, I found business people my age at the forefront of managing a company in a highly competitive market, from operations to negotiating with investors. Witnessing that, I was in a bit of a crisis, thinking that the gap between me and them would only widen given the trajectory of my career.

There were quite many challenges in my previous job, but I wanted to change, or rather, step outside of the environment I was in and immerse myself in a competitive one, where I could impact the world. It was around this time that I was introduced to PayPay.

Why did you decide to join PayPay?

I was extremely attracted to the potential the code payment business possessed after my time in Indonesia. During my previous job at the bank, I was transferred to Indonesia’s largest code payment service provider, the bank’s investee, where I was able to experience firsthand how payments were changing people’s lives. That led me to where I am now.

PayPay has been attracting talented people from around the world, and I felt that PayPay was well-positioned to compete globally as a FinTech company from Japan. I decided to join because I thought I could make good use of my experience in payments and finance in the company’s environment.

What do you mean by “payments changing people’s lives”?

Few people in Indonesia have bank accounts, and less than 10% of the population own a credit card. So, cash was the main payment method, but bills were crumpled and even going to the supermarket was an ordeal because of the traffic jams. Payment methods are important factors in the spread of delivery services and e-commerce, but that was the bottleneck in Indonesia. As it is tough to manage cash due to the lack of safety, even cash on delivery posed to be difficult.

Given those circumstances, the emergence of code payment services like PayPay completely changed society and helped it run smoothly in just a year or two. From there, electronic payments rapidly spread even in local, privately owned stores, and I had the privilege of experiencing firsthand how life became more convenient for everyone. Not having to carry a wallet was quite comfortable, and I saw great potential for code payments in Japan.

Make Society More Convenient with Services Only Possible with PayPay

Please tell us about your work

The Finance Business Promotion Department is responsible for the operations and promotion of the credit card business, which is one of the three pillars of PayPay’s financial business.

I am responsible for promoting multiple projects with the aim of creating new financial businesses and services by successfully combining PayPay’s user base of over 57 million users, our technological capabilities, and the strengths of PayPay Card (our group company). While the projects move forward and draw in all divisions in both companies, as a project manager, I am involved in a wide range of tasks, from discussing policies with management to resolving issues in that may hinder the projects and creating attractive services.

Which project was the most challenging for you?

PayPay Card Gold, launched in November 2022, was the first major project since PayPay became a group by making PayPay Card its wholly owned subsidiary. This was an important project not only for PayPay and PayPay Card, but also for the SoftBank group including Yahoo! JAPAN. Despite the tight schedule, we closely collaborated with various group companies and managed to successfully release the product. I’m rather happy to hear the many positive comments from users after launch.

I want to continue creating more convenient services that conventional financial institutions and credit card companies cannot provide, but that can be realized thanks to PayPay’s customer base and product development capabilities.

Have you noticed any differences from your previous job in the course of your work?

I would say the speed at which business moves. I have been involved in companies where the decision-making process was simple, but with PayPay, in addition to the speed of giving the go-ahead, the time frame from making a decision to delivering a great service to users is exceptionally short and the commitment is intense. This is something I’ve never experienced anywhere else.

The entire company has built a support system to secure resources needed to achieve our targets, including the hiring of new talent, so I have no room for excuses as somebody who is in charge of promoting PayPay’s business. I am in an environment and culture that allows us to focus on delivering wonderful services to users.

Competing with Cash— Aiming to Become the No. 1 User-Centric Financial Service

What is the most rewarding aspect about working in your team?

Getting involved in projects that can leave a big impact on society!
PayPay has been expanding its user base for code payments. Now, as we expand our financial business, the initiatives and overcoming the challenges we will encounter in the credit card business will be crucial. There is much left to be done to become No. 1, and there is no better opportunity than this for those who want to challenge themselves.

What do you value in your work at PayPay?

I like the phrase “Work for Life or Work for Rice” from the PayPay 5 Senses. I know there are various ways to interpret this, but I feel that it is a question of one’s mindset regarding work. Although I encounter many difficulties in my job, I feel that PayPay is brimming with people who want to accomplish something great now that they’re here. I feel that one of the charms of PayPay is that we can face difficult challenges with like-minded colleagues.

What do you consider your mission and what do you want to accomplish?

I want to create services that “wow” Japan and make it more convenient. I also would like to create a world where people can live without cash as long as they have PayPay. I believe that promoting the digitalization of payments, which is linked to all purchasing activities, and providing it as a convenient, safe, and secure service will be meaningful for society.

It would be great if we could take away that sense of aversion people feel towards financial products by providing services that make them more accessible—asset management, support for buying homes and cars, insurance proposals, and the like—all tailored to each individual’s life stage.

What kind of person do you think would flourish at PayPay?

I get the impression that people with the following characteristic and mindset are quite active in PayPay.

• Able to create something as a team while maintaining the user’s perspective
• Always willing to learn and drives the provision of new services, businesses, and value-added offers

I want to work with people who have a strong desire and are enthusiastic to become No. 1 in the industry despite all the challenges.

Even at the organizational level, we respect each other and through friendly competition, hope to build a stronger team. I would like to challenge people from various backgrounds to break with the convention that financial institutions have established and create new value!

*Hiring information is as of the time of this interview.

Special Thanks: Keita Takahara / Editor: Saori / Author: PayPay Inside-Out Editorial Team / Photographer: Tak

*Employees’ affiliations are as of the time of the interview.