The Professionals series showcases talented experts who support PayPay Group’s operations.
This time, we interviewed Koichi Tsuboyama from the Enterprise Sales Department about the projects he has been working on since joining the company and what he values in his work.
Koichi Tsuboyama
Leader of Team 5, Sales Department 1, Enterprise Sales Division 1, Sales Group
After joining SoftBank as a new graduate and working for about 10 years as a sales representative in the Consumer Business Department, I was seconded to PayPay in October 2019. I found the work in a rapidly growing company fulfilling and transferred to PayPay after a year to handle vending machines and the like, where I am currently involved.
Bringing PayPay to Vending Machines
Please tell us about your background and why you joined PayPay
I joined SoftBank as a new graduate and was a sales representative for electronics retailers, engaged in negotiations and management of sales staff for the acquisition of smartphones and fiber-optic internet users. Having gained about 10 years of experience, I considered taking on a new business venture for my next career move, which led me to a secondment at PayPay in 2019 through an intra-group job posting. It was about a year after the launch, and after the “The 10 Billion Yen Giveaway Campaign” had ended. Working in a growing company was very enjoyable, so I decided to transfer permanently.
What is your team’s mission and what are your responsibilities?
The Enterprise Sales Division is responsible for new business development and account sales for major merchants. I have primarily been in charge of the automated machine sector (vending machines, parking lots, coin laundries, etc.). Recently, I’ve also been handling some other merchants.
Japan is a country with a strong vending machine culture, with about 2 million beverage vending machines nationwide, but most of them only accept cash. From the beginning, PayPay has aimed to be a service that can be used anytime and anywhere. The introduction to vending machines, which people use daily and have a low unit price, is considered essential for realizing PayPay’s vision.
Overcoming Cost Challenges and Starting from Scratch
How did you proceed with introducing PayPay to vending machines?
Initially, it started as a project within the department. I didn’t know about the industry structure or what players were involved, so I began by getting the overall picture.
At first, I thought, “If beverage manufacturers decided to adopt it, can’t we introduce it?” But in reality, we needed to have a contract with the vending machine operator companies that manage and operate the vending machines. Even after various beverage manufacturers decided to adopt PayPay and installed the terminals, the actual choice of which cashless payment method to use was up to the operators, which led to a situation where only prepaid IC cards could be used.
Therefore, we carried out personalized meetings with companies that had not yet adopted PayPay and kept diligently conveying the appeal and benefits of PayPay.
What challenges did you face in the process?
The reason why most vending machines had not adopted cashless payment systems was that the cost of installing cashless-compatible equipment and the monthly running costs did not match the sales of the vending machines. To address this, we collaborated with payment terminal providers and implemented a promotional campaign to offset installation costs, thereby overcoming the financial barriers.
Thanks to these efforts, three years later, the number of automatic machines that adopted PayPay has expanded, and our team has grown to handle various industries.
Ownership and Professionalism Are Key
What do you value in your role at PayPay?
If I may borrow from PayPay 5 Senses, “Be sincere to be professional” is a mindset I consider important.
The ideas is to be sincere in your work without any compromise, creating new opportunities and values, while seeing things through till the end. Although vending machines are a niche field, I believe it’s still a necessary area for promoting cashless payments in Japan. So I worked with the belief that we are the only ones who can do it.
What do you find most rewarding about your job?
I find it rewarding to be able to constantly challenge myself to spread and establish a cashless culture. I also find fulfillment in proposing and providing things that are appreciated by both users and merchants. Services like PayPay Coupons, Stamps, Gift Cards, and PaaS that allows PayPay payments from a store’s app are increasing as we speak.
New services are rarely 100% complete when launched, so sales are involved in improving them and pitching them. By customizing little by little through client interviews, it feels like we are creating the product together. Although it is challenging to refine each service through repeated feedback and choose the best option from multiple alternatives, it is quite a satisfying job as a salesperson.
How is the onboarding process for new employees?
New employees work alongside existing members in a paring system. After joining the company, for the first two to three months, they will be fully shadowing on projects, and gradually switch to managing their own projects. We understand that new employees may feel anxious not knowing whom to ask or what to do immediately upon joining, so we want them to be able to consult and ask questions to their seniors while absorbing job-related knowledge and skills.
What would you like to accomplish or try in the future?
Currently, when adopting payment terminals, many naturally opt for PayPay.
We are gradually shifting to account sales that support promotional activities such as proposing PayPay Coupons.
We have actively started sales of these Coupons since last year, and they are being implemented in vending machines, parking lots, coin laundries, and gaming arcades. Additionally, mini apps within PayPay have also been introduced to shared services. We’ve received words of thanks for increasing the acquisition of new users and we feel that our services have contributed to the growth of our merchants.
As for organization building, we aspire to create a team that finds and takes control of our work, rather than being controlled by the work! The initiative to expand to automated machines initially started from the vision of my supervisor. Although it’s easy to get caught up in daily tasks when busy, merely completing assigned tasks can make it hard to find joy in one’s work. We want to aim for a team that proactively takes on challenges, keeping in mind the benefits for the company, merchants, and users.
Any messages to our readers?
While PayPay is a service used by many users and merchants, we are still a growing company. Many of our employees come from diverse backgrounds and are thriving by leveraging their unique perspectives. To further grow PayPay, we would appreciate everyone’s support and collaboration.
Let’s promote cashlessness in Japan and bring happiness to people through the information revolution!
We look forward to working with you at PayPay!
Current job openings
*Job openings and employee affiliations are current as of the time of the interview.