A Global Payments Platform

Payment services have emerged as a dominant force in Japan and the country is moving toward a cashless society. At Wahl+Case, we had the pleasure of interviewing Account Manager Ryuzo Higashi and Implementation Manager Nobuya Iwao at Adyen, a global payments platform that provides an integrated solution for all sales channels.

In part 1 we talked about the world view they are aiming for at Adyen and the appeal of their corporate culture, and in the second part, we focused on what they find rewarding about working at Adyen and their vision for the future of the company.

Read part 1 here.

I think that Adyen's open and honest culture has helped the company to continuously grow. Is there anything else that is unique to Adyen’s culture?

Nobuya: What makes Adyen unique is that our strategy as a company has not changed. We are not driven by short-term trends but are committed to our long-term goal.

This applies to service development as well. Other vendors often create new platforms with each new service release. Because of this, the number of transactions to be processed increases, causing a snowball effect and slowing things down. Adyen, on the other hand, takes a long-term view, sticking to a single platform to preserve simplicity and usability, and refining the value of its offering.

What do you find most rewarding about working at Adyen?

Ryuzo: I joined Adyen about two and a half years ago, just as they started focusing on the Japanese market. I thought that joining at that important time could have a significant impact on the business.

While some of our competitors do not spend money in the Japanese market itself, we are sticking to our strategy of having a base in Japan.

On top of this, I like the fact that there is fast-paced decision-making and quick implementation within the company.

What I find rewarding is that as the company is expanding, I am growing as well. Of course, Adyen is still increasing brand awareness in Japan, but I'd like to see the company succeed in this market, taking advantage of our well-known global client base. The number of employees in our Tokyo office is increasing, and I am motivated by the fact that Adyen’s future shines bright.

Nobuya: What made me decide to join Adyen was its focus on “Tech Central”, which stands out even among fintech companies in the payments sphere. A single service description was enough to appeal to my engineer's heart, and made me want to work here. Actually, the fact that 50% of our employees work in technical positions made me realize that I have the chance to work in a real tech company.

What I find most rewarding about working at Adyen is that I am directly working in the technological evolution. The other implementation managers also come from very diverse backgrounds and specialties. Everyone is friendly and responds positively to your questions. An environment in which you can collaborate with members like this and boost each other is of great appeal to engineers.

What do you think people working at Adyen have in common?

Ryuzo: On the business side, I get the impression that many people question certain matters and think critically "is that really true?". Even when speaking to clients, many of us tend to ask hard questions that get to the heart of the matter and bring out their true needs such as “why do you really want to make that happen?”.

Also, when advising customers, we look at their usage data and ask proactive questions like, "Why are there such differences?”, which leads to more valuable suggestions.

Nobuya: We have members in various roles and those who are able to build networks with the experts in each field are able to maintain a high performance. Adyen's engineers are required to make final decisions based on their own networks with the help of various experts. Engineers who can do this will succeed at Adyen.

Where do you see Adyen in Japan in the future?

Ryuzo: First of all, I would like to change the common perceptions of payments, which has been taken for granted in Japan. We need to rethink what the best setup is, of course while still complying with Japan's unique rules.

At the same time, our mission in Japan is to serve as a bridge for Adyen to gain an accurate understanding of the situation in Japan and to ensure that we are on the same page.

Nobuya: Japan is a very important market from a strategic point of view. As we move forward, we want to be at the forefront of consolidating our position as a global service provider in Japan, while understanding Japanese business practices and the traditions of the payments industry.

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Misato Matsuo
Japan Interviewer's Association certified interviewer and writer
Content Manager at Flier Inc.

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