Get an insider look at the major projects of the PayPay group in our Project Story series. Here, we shine a spotlight on key projects, uncover the obstacles faced, and delve into the dedication of team members, bringing you stories straight from the field through exclusive interviews.
This edition introduces the project behind the addition of the “Bitcoin Course” to “Earn Points” in January 2025. We interviewed the business planning and product development members who drove this project with commitment to a user-first approach.
Yuzuru Ikeda
Corporate Planning Department, PayPay Securities
Started his career in front office roles at a bank. Moved to an online securities firm aiming to broaden fair and open financial market transactions. Joined PayPay Securities in August 2023.
Takumi Hasegawa
Business Promotion Department, PayPay Securities
Worked in face-to-face sales at a major securities firm after graduation. Transitioned to an online securities company to handle service and tool development projects. Joined PayPay Securities in March 2024.
Atsushi Tsukamoto
Product Management Division, PayPay Securities
After working in ERP package sales and development, he gained startup experience in building products and organizations from the ground up. Seeking to participate in creating breakthrough products, he joined PayPay Securities as a Product Manager in June 2024.
Shinichi Imazu
Technology Division, PayPay Securities
With over a decade spent in developing and maintaining systems for securities companies (wholesale), he joined PayPay Securities (formerly OneTapBUY) in May 2020.
Offering a Simulated Bitcoin Investment Experience in Earn Points
Could you tell us about the project and how it was initiated?
Hasegawa:
Our mission was to deliver a service that simulates Bitcoin price movements within Earn Points, the mini-app available on PayPay.
This service, known as “Bitcoin Course,” was a project we took upon ourselves to resurrect, having been shelved previously within the company. While many are intrigued by cryptocurrency, the volatile price swings can feel unsettling. Therefore, our goal was to experience and become familiar with the thrill of Bitcoin through casually using the points they get. With societal acceptance of cryptocurrencies advancing, re-embarking on this venture was timely and meaningful.
Related link：“Earn Points” for a Simulated Investment Experience on the PayPay App to Introduce the Bitcoin Course on January 13, 2025!（Press Release on January 8, 2025）
What were your roles and responsibilities in the project?
Hasegawa:
I’m the person in charge of adding new courses to “Earn Points.” The larger the project, the tougher the coordination, but receiving user feedback makes it rewarding. The addition of the “Bitcoin Course” has been a project I’ve been working on right from when I joined the company, and is deeply meaningful.
Ikeda:
My past experience dealing with derivative financial products equipped me with the knowledge necessary for integrating a cryptocurrency product. My mission is to create a platform where users can trade freely and enjoy it.
Tsukamoto:
As a Product Manager, I facilitated development environments and functioned as a bridge between business and product teams. This was despite being new to the finance sector – I drove the project while catching up on all the necessary industry background along the way.
Imazu:
As an engineer, my usual responsibilities include receiving market data and developing, maintaining, and safeguarding risk hedging features. In this project, I managed the features for pricing data reception and hedging transactions.
A Dynamic Business and Development Collaboration: Challenges Faced
What were the most challenging aspects of this project?
Ikeda:
Cryptocurrencies come with risks due to their price volatility, security concerns, and money laundering. It was imperative to control these risks and establish a scheme where users could trade securely.
Hasegawa:
“Bitcoin Course” marked our initial foray into crypto products within “Earn Points.” It required us to simulate risk assessment schemes repeatedly to secure acknowledgment from stakeholders, which was a big effort.
Ikeda:
We engaged in repeated discussions, aligning across legal, risk management, and customer service teams to build a risk-mitigated service delivery scheme, constantly considering the characteristics of cryptocurrencies and service provision methods of other businesses.
Tsukamoto:
Two predominant challenges faced by the product side were: first, dealing with hard-coded existing services, making adding functionalities technically demanding; second, previous developments were highly individualized, with documents available but only understandable by a handful of developers.
We constantly hypothesized and verified the existing specifications to ensure we could smoothly implement the desired requirements. Earn Points did not have high scalability, which tech debt had to be considered to define the requirements.
Imazu:
Adding a new course to “Earn Points” demands extensive product knowledge. As a developer, it was crucial to wrap my head around diverse financial products and ensure the system properly supports transactions in the volatile and young market of cryptocurrency.
Particularly, implementing mechanisms to halt user transactions when an anomaly is detected proved complex. Instead of the initially scoped framework with a simpler development process, we ended up using a AWS services to achieve higher reliability in the integration. This endeavor involved cross-functional collaboration, especially between infrastructure and development teams. Although we faced such challenges associated with cryptocurrency as a high-risk asset, I feel the project helped me grow significantly as a developer.
How is the new course being received?
Hasegawa:
Initial results exceeded our goals by about three times. Notably, user reactions, amounts added to the course, and auto-add subscribers are much higher compared to other courses. The numbers showcase how much people are interested in the course.
Personally, seeing a long-awaited project emerge successful and hearing users’ enthusiastic feedback is very fulfilling.
A User-Friendly World of Simulated Investments
What principles do you hold dear in your work?
Ikeda:
“Be Sincere To Be Professional.”
I consistently strive to offer fair, transparent financial services that stimulate economic activity, contributing to societal well-being and, in turn, increasing the value of our business.
Hasegawa:
“Ego is not welcome, Communication is necessary.”
Business planning demands constant collaboration. Building trust and working cohesively as a one-team effort hinges on communication.
Tsukamoto:
“Believe in our PRODUCT & TEAM.”
It’s essential to believe in the people you work together with and refine the product. A Product Manager can achieve nothing alone, so I focus on removing bottlenecks to facilitate smooth project progression.
Imazu:
“Ego is not welcome, Communication is necessary.” “Be Sincere To be Professional.”
We in the product division, as developers of financial systems, pursue a no-compromise, zero-defect standard. I prioritize communication, keeping a professional awareness as I tackle daily challenges.
What do you hope to accomplish moving forward?
Ikeda:
Simplifying finances means different things to users with varying literacy levels. The project provided valuable insights into balancing simplicity for beginners versus experienced users. Specifically, I believe I now have a much better understanding of how “beginner investors” are interpreted within the PayPay group, including what is seen as “easy to understand” when designing screens and text to be seen by users. Moving forward, I am devoted to making trading global financial products more accessible and enjoyable for everyone.
Hasegawa:
The post-release reactions have refueled my sense of responsibility as service provider. At PayPay Securities, business and product teams engage in repeated honest discussions to build the product together. If initial designs appear cumbersome to users, adjustments are promptly made. Continuing this spirit, I aspire to make asset management more accessible by focusing on the UI/UX to provide intuitive and easy-to-use products. Furthermore, I aim to further expand “Earn Points” as an entry point for users to begin actual investments.
Tsukamoto:
I enjoyed the first hand experience in capturing market share through a product oriented approach, receiving real-time feedback through social platforms, and the closeness to users.
PayPay Securities’s strength lies in our collective pursuit of expanding asset management, and I envision revolutionary services altering the financial ecosystem. Steering clear from traditional confines, I aspire to render asset management more approachable through the PayPay app, fostering a mentally and financially enriched society amid uncertain times.
Imazu:
As PayPay Securities scales, there are times when developers can’t concentrate on development due to incidents that occur because we also juggle maintenance duties. I strive to prevent issues before they occur by working on root cause analyses (RCA). Contributing to service scaling and revenue enhancement while advancing system automation, stability, and reduced maintenance burdens is my goal.
A message to our readers please!
Hasegawa:
Our company is not an over the counter service or general online securities service; we are in a unique position where we can offer new services via a platform that has a huge user base, which you can’t experience elsewhere. You can also experience how users receive our service first hand as well.
Those that are eager and proactive will thrive here, regardless of past experience, given the opportunities to handle large impact projects.
Tsukamoto:
While a latecomer in the securities business, we can tap into the user base of PayPay app, at 68 million users (as of March 2025), which presents a vast potential. Even without industry experience, you can succeed as long as you actively learn and remain interested.
Join us in channeling our passion to drive the creation of products that make asset management even more accessible in everyday life.
*Job openings and employee affiliations are current as of the time of the interview.