The Professionals series showcases talented experts who support PayPay Group’s operations.
In this issue, we interviewed Kawano-san, one of the Product Managers for Peer-to-Peer Payments (P2P) in the Product Group. We inquired about his path to joining the company, the projects that stood out to him, and the core values he prioritizes in his work.
Yuki Kawano
P2P Team, Financial Services Product Division, Product Group
My journey began during my student years when I received seed money from an investor to launch my own service. This experience sparked my interest in startups. From there, I set my sights on becoming a product manager and gained valuable experience working as a data analyst in a startup, followed by an engineering role at leading HR company. In 2020, I made the move to join PayPay.
From my initial encounter with PayPay as a user to my path into the role of Product Manager
Please tell us about your background and why you joined PayPay
I have always been interested in startups, and since my student days I have been participating in business competitions and launching my own services. Throughout this experience, I had the opportunity to learn about the role of product managers. As an intern, I also took on positions as a data analyst and engineer to acquire the necessary skills.
I was drawn to working at PayPay because I was amazed by the convenience of sending money by a collection link. I came across this service when splitting the bills amongst my startup friends and became a heavy user. When I had the opportunity to speak with PayPay’s Product Manager, I sympathized with his approach to creating user-first products and this is why I decided to join PayPay.
Can you tell us about the team’s role and mission?
The mission of the P2P Team is to contribute to PayPay’s user growth by making P2P more convenient. As a Product Manager, I work collaboratively with various departments, overseeing a wide range of responsibilities: data analysis, conducting user interviews, writing product specification documents, timeline management, monitoring, and comprehensive tasks such as financial crime prevention.
To name a few specific projects, we have recently rolled out Group Bill, Recurring Transfer (scheduled payment feature), and a suggestion feature for P2P transfers.
Focusing on Improving Uncollected Money
Which projects left the strongest impression on you?
The project that stood out to me is the auto-collect feature project we rolled out in November 2021. The initial specifications required receiver approval after sending money, which led to user feedback that expressed, “It’s bothersome and inconvenient to have to confirm receiving,” and how some users were not able to collect money within a given time window. We discovered that approximately 2.3% of the total transfers had indeed become expired and remained uncollected without being resent.
In order to address this issue, our initial approach was to send out reminders through push notifications. We implemented it promptly due to its immediate feasibility, but even after sending reminder notifications, the expiration rate didn’t show improvement at all. That’s when we embarked on the auto-collect feature.
One of the main dilemmas we encountered during implementation was deciding whether to make the default setting for the auto-collect feature “On” or “Off.” Turning it off carried the risk of users not noticing the feature and the potential for issues being unresolved. On the other hand, keeping auto-collect on raised concerns about the inability to cancel payments, which would potentially lead to other problems. Ultimately, we opted for an initial “On” configuration and followed up with measures for awareness.
What were the results and response after the rollout?
The rollout resulted in an approximately 2.7% improvement in expiration rates and a 1.4% increase in payments.
However, it’s possible that the number of payments increased due to the decrease in cancellation rates and declining of receipts. While users provided positive feedback, describing the service as “convenient” and “helpful,” there were also negative responses, with some voicing, “I didn’t realize I had received the payment and couldn’t thank the sender.” We aim to make improvements in this regard moving forward.
What’s the team’s vibe like?
The P2P Team’s engineers and designers work closely as one team, and they can huddle at any time without hesitation. To ensure smooth operations, we employ various strategies. With our engineers, we dive into technical details to cultivate empathy and establish common understandings. With our designers, we aim to share research findings and align on the issues we are dealing with. I also try to respond on Slack as fast as I can to prevent development from slowing down!
Always Have the Ball in Your Court and Take Action
What do you value in your work at PayPay?
Getting deeply involved and taking the lead in moving forward. If we sit back and observe, waiting for someone to take the lead, progress won’t be made. I believe in seizing the initiative and making a move, even if I may not be the perfect fit. I believe that by doing so, we can clarify who is the most suitable. I try to share my enthusiasm to those around me, while building my own plans and have experts chime in for improvements.
When I initially joined the company, I found myself in a situation lacking structured processes and an underdeveloped environment. The wisdom I gained from my senior colleagues on navigating such conditions continue to guide me to this day!
What aspects of product development do you find attractive and fulfilling?
For me, it would be being involved in all stages of the project. I find it rewarding to have autonomy and responsibilities to carry out my work, utilizing my ideas and skills from the beginning to the end of a project.
It’s also gratifying to gain a clear understanding of how users are responding to the features we’ve rolled out. We can make use of honest reviews from users on social media and review sites to drive our efforts in improving the next product. Plus, we get to witness people using PayPay around the city. Watching how users integrate the product into their everyday routines can lead to fresh insights.
What do you hope to achieve in the future?
In the future, I would like to focus on expanding not only the PayPay app, but also the products within the PayPay group. Leveraging the culture and experience I have gained during my time at PayPay, I would like to build a user-first product team for PayPay Card and work towards significant growth.
Lastly, a message for our readers please!
The Product teams are composed of professionals from more than 50 countries. If you’d like to take ownership and have no reservations about open communication within such a diverse team, this is the perfect environment for you. While PayPay is currently fortunate to have 60 million users, there is still a long way ahead to become the number one fintech company globally.
If you have ambitions to strive for the top spot with a team of experts, we’d love to hear from you. Please feel free to reach out for a conversation!
Current Job Openings
*Job openings and employee affiliations are current as of the time of the interview.