Our Mission is to Expand Awareness of Service that Transform User Experience: The Vision of PayPay Credit Promotion Professional

In this edition of our Professional Series, which delves into the lives of the extraordinary professionals working in the PayPay group, we spoke with Kota Yamada from the Credit Business Promotion Department, dedicated to spreading the deferred payment feature “PayPay Credit (Japanese page only)” provided by PayPay and PayPay Card, about some of his recent projects, future plans, and what makes his job worthwhile.

Experiencing PayPay’s First-Ever Payment and Realizing Its Value

Can you tell us more about your career before joining PayPay?

I joined a major securities company as a new graduate. There, I was involved in various occupations. However, I began to feel a strong desire to hone my business planning skills, which led me to transition to SoftBank Corp., which had just started focusing on financial services.

At SoftBank, I was seconded to One Tap BUY (now PayPay Securities Corporation), where I was involved in planning of fintech businesses—specifically, creating more accessible securities investment services using smartphones. I fully experienced the challenges and fulfillment of creating something new from scratch, which could not be felt at a large corporation.

So, have you been with PayPay since its inception?

Yes, I was seconded during the launch phase of PayPay. Although everything was in a trial-and-error stage, I believe I was able to apply my experience of creating a service from scratch, which I gained during my time at One Tap BUY. At that time, the organization wasn’t as established as it is now, and we tackled everything as one single team, including sales, planning, marketing, various research, and legal coordination. On the other hand, to be honest, I had doubts like “Can we capture the market share for code payment at this late stage?” and “PayPay is a rather odd name.”

However, being present at the office during PayPay’s first-ever payment, I thought, “This is surprisingly convenient,” and as I witnessed more customers embracing PayPay beyond our expectations, my fears turned into confidence and then conviction. Contributing to the process of an unknown service gradually permeating and growing into one of Japan’s leading services has indeed been an invaluable experience.

What are your current responsibilities and department?

After working on launching online payments and mini apps, I am now focused on acquiring users and promoting the use of “PayPay Credit,” which is provided by both PayPay and PayPay Card. To accelerate the expansion of PayPay Credit, which I was also involved right from its launch, I also have a dual position in PayPay Card so that I can work together with the PayPay Card team on a day to day basis.

Promoting the “Blue” PayPay Credit is My Mission

What has been the most memorable recent project?

I was involved in the release of a feature that sets PayPay Credit as the preferred payment method when users apply to use it. While I thought the convenience of PayPay Credit, which doesn’t require any top ups, would be evident once tried, awareness of its existence among users was proving to be an issue, which is why we worked on this setting to increase opportunities for users to experience PayPay Credit.

A challenging aspect was the need for repeated cross-departmental coordination between PayPay and PayPay Card, given the many departments within each company, each with its own responsibilities and perspectives. As the business team representative, I had to coordinate and drive projects amidst this complexity, where various interests were involved.

I believe that “hypothetical thinking,” “big picture thinking,” and “abstract thinking” are core skills required when working in a business, and when it comes to communication, I consider abstract thinking to be the most important. Although everyone in the PayPay group shares the desire to create user-first services, focusing too much on immediate tasks can cause anyone to lose sight of this goal. That’s why I focused on presenting the current situation, issues, and solutions as simply and logically as possible, making sure I communicate in a way that everyone has their eyes on the same goal.

Ultimately, we successfully completed the project, and the usage rate of PayPay Credit, an important KPI in the business, approached the target. I am proud to have contributed to the spread of PayPay Credit.

What changes when PayPay Credit is used by more people?

From the user’s perspective, the convenience of PayPay improves significantly. Currently, many people use PayPay within the range of whatever amount they top up to their account in advance. However, this means that in some situations they still have to worry about how much they’ve topped up or have in their bank account. We aim for a world where everything can be seamlessly completed within the PayPay app.

With the onset of digital salary payments, fintech businesses will continue to spread across our lives. Within that context, PayPay Credit holds a significant position in realizing the company-wide goal of transforming PayPay into a super app. Our target is to spread the recognition of “PayPay = Credit” among users, further evolving it into an even more user-friendly service so that PayPay Credit is used as a normal course of action.

What is the appeal of working at PayPay?

Being able to design the path forward, with the involvement of various departments and stakeholders, including group companies. Each department and company have their respective missions, and opinions clash at times. So there’s a big sense of accomplishment when you start seeing everyone move in alignment towards the same goal of delivering new value to users. In addition, any new features or services can potentially change the lives of 67 million users (as of December 2024). The satisfaction of being involved at such a large scale is something you can’t experience other than in the PayPay group.

Always Listening, Always Learning. Today’s Norm Is Tomorrow’s Irregular

What are your future vision and goals?

I want to fulfill my mission of spreading PayPay Credit and deliver a more convenient service to users. At the same time, I dream of a world where all handling of money, like receiving salaries, high-value payments, and expense tracking, are completed can be PayPay. Achieving this requires the PayPay Group to become one team, maximizing group synergy. I aim to bridge the PayPay Group, creating new value like PayPay Credit.

Lastly, do you have any messages for potential candidates?

Despite its large scale and social mission, PayPay has a corporate atmosphere that is brimming with entrepreneurial spirit. For example, when a problem arises, we try to fix it within 24 hours, not by next week. Improvements progress at a very rapid pace. If you want to make a significant impact on society and also value speed, I think it’s the perfect company.

Additionally, in many situations, what is considered normal today may become irregular tomorrow, requiring you to cast aside pride, listen to others’ opinions daily, and continually learn. Those who are passionate about enhancing the user experience and can adapt flexibly to change will certainly thrive at PayPay.

*Job openings and employee affiliations are current as of the time of the interview.