I joined Wise in November 2021 and before this, my career was rooted in a traditional Japanese logistics company. This often means manual paperwork, rigid hierarchy and a very localised way of doing things. 

I was already a Wise customer and using the app to send JPY to USD and I fell in love with the product. I remember thinking “how cool would it be to actually work for a company that I use everyday?” and looked into applying for a role. I started as a Customer Support agent, which helped me understand the ‘why’ behind what we do. Moving into Payment Operations (PayOps) recently has allowed me to understand the ‘how’. 

Our mission is to build the best way to move and manage the world’s money and Payment Operations is at the heart of that. As we become more popular in Japan, more customers are trusting us with their money. My job in PayOps is to ensure that trust is rewarded with a seamless customer experience. 

If there’s a blocker, I’m the one coordinating between Product, Engineering, and Customer Support (CS) to clear the path. Take Chinese New Year as an example: despite the holidays and time zone hurdles, the team got together to mitigate problems before the customers even experienced them. 

My journey has been a transition from the front-end of the customer experience to the back-end of the business. Starting in CS, I gained a deep, nuanced understanding of the Japanese market and our local customers. Upon reaching my third year, I was given the opportunity to mentor new starters. This taught me that leadership isn’t just about teaching; it’s about being flexible enough to adapt to each person’s unique learning style. Fun fact: both my previous and current Leads were actually my mentees during their onboarding! It’s incredible to see the full circle of growth here. 

In my final year in CS, I became the first Japanese-speaking Total Service (TS) agent. Because of my experience with complex, unique scenarios and a sharp eye for detail, I began working closely with multiple stakeholders. This was my first real taste of collaborating with Payops, Compliance, and Product teams to refine our offerings based on direct customer feedback. 

Moving into PayOps allowed me to apply that local expertise to our global infrastructure. I’m incredibly grateful to both my previous and current Leads who supported this transition and empowered me to take risks. Starting a new position can be daunting, but having a strong team behind you makes all the difference. PayOps is very self led–you learn as you go, which makes it really exciting. Even though it's a fast-paced environment, I’ve never felt like I couldn't stop and ask a question. There’s a genuine ‘open-door’ culture here where I feel safe to flag when I don’t know something, knowing my team is there to help me bridge that gap.