What is Design Chit-Chat?
PayPay has now grown into a mobile payment service used by one out of every two smartphone users, with a user base of 60 million people. One thing that is indispensable in the service’s development is the presence of product members with rich personalities from more than 50 countries and regions around the world. A team consisting of members with global-level technical skills has come together, and through the process of individually understanding each other’s differences and commonalities in thinking, one by one, we have transformed into a team capable of generating novel perspectives, approaches, and outputs that were previously unexplored.
In this Design Chit-Chat series, we would like to present a series of member’s voices to give you a clear picture of the PayPay Design Team and its unique vibe of craftsmanship.
For this issue, we spoke with the members of the O2O & PP4B Team.
Kiku
Manager
I was born in Saitama, Japan. I joined Yahoo Japan Corporation (current LY Corporation) as a designer in 2013. Following my responsibilities in design work and planning for Yahoo! JAPAN Shopping, I was seconded to PayPay in 2019 for developing new QR payment services. I joined PayPay in 2020 to take on my current role.
Polly
I’m originally from New Delhi, India. I worked as a Research Assistant at the University of Tokyo during my master’s thesis. Later, I returned to India to gain experience as a UX designer and researcher at one of the largest ticketing portals. During my visit to Japan while pursuing my master’s degree, I was captivated by the charm of Japan and due to my family’s work, I returned to Japan. PayPay’s diverse international environment and excellent working conditions led me to join the company in 2020.
Downey
I was born in Beijing, China. After earning my master’s degree in Japan, I joined Yahoo Japan Corporation (current LY Corporation) as a UI/UX designer. I worked as a designer for Yahoo! JAPAN Maps and Yahoo! JAPAN Car Navigation. With a strong desire to enrich people’s lives through PayPay’s products and to improve these products with my own hands, I chose to join PayPay in May 2022.
Pha
I’m originally from Bangkok, Thailand. I earned my master’s degree in London. I gained experience as a product designer in the fashion industry in the UK and at a Thai fintech company in my home country. To explore new challenges in different domains and expand my expertise, I joined PayPay in October 2022.
Rina
I’m from Saitama, Japan. I started my career as a product designer and frontend engineer. In March 2023, I became part of PayPay’s team as a product designer.
Risa
I’m from Chiba, Japan. In 2016, I joined Yahoo Japan Corporation (current LY Corporation). During my time there, I worked in design and planning at Yahoo! JAPAN Shopping, gaining valuable experience in team management. Driven by my interest in IT and finance, I made the decision to join PayPay in July 2023.
What is the O2O & PP4B Team’s Mission?
Kiku:
The mission of the O2O & PP4B Team is to enhance O2O services through the expertise of designers.
As the team name suggests, we have two significant roles in achieving this mission. One is to boost engagement among O2O (Online to Offline) users with services like coupons and stamp cards, to encourage frequent use of these services, and to have merchants utilize these tools as marketing resources.
Our other role is to provide user-friendly tools to our merchants through our business support tool PP4B (PayPay for Business), designed for merchants to manage sales gained through PayPay payments.
What is your role within the team and what challenges are you facing?
Risa:
My responsibility is to improve the app’s UI/UX within this team. I’m in a situation where I’ve recently taken on numerous tasks, such as tool design, and so I’m facing a broad range of responsibilities.
Rina:
I’m primarily responsible for designing O2O products and the Flyer service. As for Flyer, it was just rolled out this year, and we are actively gathering user feedback to assess how they have been received. We are making necessary improvements based on this feedback.
Downey:
I’m responsible for PP4B and PayPay Coupons. An important element in our work is ensuring that stakeholders understand the significance of design. As a designer, I aim to convey the value of design and with it further enhance the value of products. I keep this idea in mind as I work.
Polly:
I am in charge of the Nearby feature (a feature where users can search for stores and deals on a map) and support other functionalities like Flyer. Apart from that, I am part of the Design Ops and Research Teams.
Pha:
The current projects that I am in charge of are Gift Vouchers and Stamp Card. the business teams have their requirements, which are crucial. However, as a designer, I believe it’s equally important to strike a balance between business needs and good design.
Polly:
I also hold the belief that designers bear the responsibility of striking a balance between the demands of businesses and the preferences of users, ultimately reaching a compromise.
Kiku:
As a manager, I oversee the O2O & PP4B Team.
It varies depending on the type of tasks, but given that we deal with services, we often have many stakeholders involved, including those from the business and legal departments. Designers must comprehend all requirements and make sure to incorporate user-friendliness within them.
Ultimately, there is a goal to aim for, as Polly and Pha have also discussed. When there is room for negotiation, it’s important for designers to voice their opinions and work towards achieving the desired goal. Communication is important in all aspects.
Tell us about the team’s culture!
Kiku:
This team, in particular, does not share a common language. But in spite of having a mix of members who are native English speakers or have limited English proficiency, like myself, communication within the team is vibrant. We actively engage in sharing our respective cultures, and I believe this contributes to a positive work atmosphere.
Polly:
We are a very understanding and cooperative team. We are also able to maintain a work-life balance. In order to further my personal growth and expertise, I dedicate time to engage in research projects and participate in groups such as the Design Ops Team. The culture encourages us to take on various challenges, rather than just being a cog in a wheel.
Pha:
I usually work remotely from home but I don’t feel a distance in communication. For instance, if I wish to share reference links or screenshots of other products, I can do so on Slack, and receive prompt responses from team members without having to wait for the next meeting.
Rina:
I value our bi-weekly team meetings; they are relaxed and allow for easy participation. I receive feedback from team members promptly, even on minor issues, and this has become a valuable learning opportunity where we can share knowledge about apps and related topics.
What future challenges are you eager to tackle?
Polly:
I’m responsible for the “gateway,” the entrance to each service. I am in charge of managing the Nearby feature, which involves working with various other feature owners. I communicate with the project managers of each feature, so it can be sometimes difficult and time-consuming to align everyone’s objectives and goals.
Another problem lies in the development aspect. Development of each service is handled by distinct teams, and it is necessary to combine them all on a single screen. Teams often deviate from planned schedules.
So for me, there are two challenges: facilitating communication among all stakeholders—PMs and developers—and finding a point of compromise.
Rina:
My challenge regarding the PayPay Flyer feature lies in one-upping traditional paper flyers, which have now become our competitors.
Users access these digital flyers on small mobile screens, while merchants employ their unique images. We are currently in the process of establishing guidelines for various elements, including dimensions and text length.
Presently, our primary focus is on enhancing critical aspects of the user experience. Nonetheless, we recognize the importance of pursuing a more user-friendly design that benefits both users and merchants. This is a challenge I firmly believe our team should tackle, and we are committed to make continuous improvements.
Downey:
One of my challenges is to ensure the continued prevalence of PayPay Coupons and maintain PayPay’s dominant position in the market.
Additionally, we’re now sharing PayPay’s designs outside the company through the Design Chit-Chat working group, which involves hosting designer-led events, such as the one we held in August.
Kiku:
The O2O & PP4B Team deals with both 2C (consumer-facing) and 2B (business-facing) aspects.
On one hand, catching up with challenges in the 2C segment is relatively easier, given that I’m also a user myself. On the other hand, the 2B segment poses a greater challenge. Consequently, my goal for our future is to proactively build on relationships with stores and tackle the challenges that merchants encounter, with the aim of incorporating their insights into our services.
A message for our readers please!
Kiku:
I believe that the excitement of working at PayPay comes from the diverse mix of cultures and the opportunity to take on new challenges. If you enjoy engaging in communication with individuals from various backgrounds, we look forward to welcoming you!
Risa:
We are an outstanding team filled with friendly and helpful members. We welcome you to join us in pursuing challenges while having a great time!
Downey:
At PayPay, you can work with so many brilliant people and gain all kinds of experience. Also, there are still many areas that need to be fixed and require growth. We certainly need your help at PayPay, so I invite you to join us and make PayPay better!
Polly:
PayPay gives you an opportunity to work alongside a talented team from around the world. It is the perfect place for you if you value collaboration, diversity and inclusion. We have members from varying backgrounds who bring unique perspectives and experiences to the table. We believe that working together is the key to creating exceptional products.
The exciting part is that you can join us from anywhere in Japan with just a laptop and a passion for your work. Apply now to be a part of our dynamic team and help us produce extraordinary products. Cheers!
Current job openings
*Job openings and employee affiliations are current as of the time of the interview.
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