What is Design Chit-Chat?
PayPay’s mobile payment service now boasts over 62 million users ― that’s one in every two smartphone users in Japan. Indispensable to its development is PayPay’s Product Team, consisting of world-class technical experts and rich personalities from over 50 countries and regions around the globe. Through understanding the differences and commonalities in our thinking ― person by person, idea by idea ― we have transformed into a team capable of creating groundbreaking perspectives, novel approaches, and unprecedented output.
The Design Chit-Chat series will introduce our members’ voices to paint a clear picture of the PayPay Design Team and its unique vibe of craftsmanship.
This time, we would like to introduce Jane Susiriwatananont from the Design Department of the Product Division.
Jane Susiriwatananont
Product Designer, Design Department, Product Division
Born in Thailand, I came to Japan in 2016 as a student. After working at several companies in Japan, I went back to Thailand and started working in the FinTech industry. I moved back to Japan in October 2022 to join PayPay, where I currently work as a manager for the Finance Team.
What do your team and you do?
I belong to PayPay’s Finance Team, where we work on a wide range of products that aim to help users manage their assets effectively. These include wallet, top-up, peer-to-peer payments (P2P), bill payment, credit card, investment, and identity verification.
Before becoming a manager in August 2022, I was a designer for wallet, P2P, and PayPay Card. Our team has grown and expanded significantly since I joined the company.
What made you decide to become a designer?
Ever since I was young, I’ve been obsessed with drawing. I chose to pursue a bachelor’s degree in graphic design because I believed I could create meaningful work.
The experience working as a graphic design intern helped me realize the difference between fine arts and design: whereas you can express your ideas freely in fine arts, design requires a different way of thinking. Coming up with good solutions requires understanding our users’ behavior and mental models through dialogues with them; and that’s what makes design interesting!
This realization led me to shift my career towards being a full-time designer in the FinTech industry, wanting to utilize my prior experience and knowledge from a bank-related project.
What projects are you working on recently?
I’m currently working on an improvement project for PayPay Card.
We are trying to resolve the discrepancies between information displayed in the PayPay Card mini app and the PayPay native application. Displaying the correct information and payment status will help our users check their transaction histories more easily.
Besides core projects, I also assist team members in conducting in-depth user research and reviewing the overall design of our financial products.
How do you come up with ideas?
Understanding the current landscape, future goals, and constraints will lead to the right solutions, so I usually start with competitor research to get ideas of how other products handle user problems.
Then, I talk with various stakeholders, including those from different departments like project managers and customer service members, to ensure I as a designer am able to balance the needs of our users with the needs of the business.
What do you value when creating products at PayPay?
We value speed, quality, and communication at PayPay.
In order to deliver a good product to users quickly, as a designer you have to be very selective, maintaining a balance between speed and quality. We should not neglect quality just to get a new release or update out; when we have to spend resources on exploration, it is acceptable to discuss with the team to adjust the timeline as necessary.
It is also crucial to keep track of the results changes produce, and continue to gather feedback from various sources. Overall, I think a smooth product-building process all comes down to good communication and a proper balance of speed and quality.
What kind of challenges do you want to take on at PayPay?
I would like to formalize user research into PayPay’s design process.
Even now, we regularly conduct surveys and user interviews, but we are still searching for the best way to get non-designers on board with the process. For this, our UX research working group “UX Bestie” has been working on expanding the research culture at PayPay as one of their side projects.
Making research culture prevalent in PayPay will help us be on the right track in delivering the best quality products.
Do you have a message for our readers?
Looking for an opportunity to grow your experience and be a part of an amazing team of members from all around the world? Do you want a balance between your private and working life by working from anywhere in Japan?
Even though we come from different backgrounds and cultures, we all believe in the same goal: making the best products out there. If you’re interested in our team or work environment, we can’t wait to hear from you ― and to grow together!
Current job openings
*Job openings and employee affiliations are current as of the time of the interview.