Women at Rakuten: Shanqi
Shanqi
Corporate Business Supervisory Department
Rakuten Card Co., Ltd.
Through my work, I’ve gained knowledge and skills in various industries
My job involves proposing payment proxy services that allow the use of multiple forms of payment, including credit cards, with new services offered by Rakuten Group. When necessary, I assist with operating and compiling new systems by implementing 3-D Secure for ID authentication as well as attribute verification and other features to detect fraud. For Rakuten Group companies that already have payment proxy services in place, I also manage affiliate stores and customer service activities. Right now, I’m the point of contact for over 10 services, including Rakuten Ichiba, Rakuten Pay, Rakuten Edy and Rakuten Travel.
As of October 2022, it has been four years since I started building my career. First, I gained experience in sales by acquiring sites for building base stations at Rakuten Mobile. After that, I was assigned to the Rakuten Pay business unit, where I was involved in in-app payments. From there, I was transferred to Rakuten Card, which is where I am now. Because the types of businesses under fintech services are so different, it almost felt like I had changed careers. Still, through that work experience, I’ve successfully gained knowledge and skills in various industries.
Since Rakuten offers services across a wide range of sectors, the connections we have with various industries and business types are equally wide-ranging. Being able to experience social trends from various standpoints has been fascinating and insightful.
The sense of satisfaction and accomplishment when hard work pays off
The other day, I successfully finished a project I was involved in for more than a year. The aim of that project was to enhance usability through the implementation of contactless payment and grow our revenue. For that project, I was a project secretariat and had to make frequent adjustments to the specifications of contactless payments alongside system personnel. This also led to opportunities for me to reacquaint myself with trends in the credit card industry and helped me gain a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.
Based on these experiences, I am hoping to build on skills wherein I can see a single project to a successful end on my own. I want to experience projects of varying sizes while being involved in finance-related duties and proceed to refine my own skills in the process.
An environment where I can take on challenges, regardless of my nationality
The official language at Rakuten is English. This is a big part of why I can tackle my work duties without thinking about my nationality. At Rakuten, there are no constraints on employees just because they are international hires. This results in an environment where anyone can challenge themselves at work.
In my division, the staff in charge are decided on a per-project basis. I’ve never hit a glass ceiling as a non-Japanese individual. In fact, I’ve personally taken on a myriad of work-related responsibilities. For example, when developing a cashless service, I was able to leverage my experience in China, where cashless culture had taken hold much earlier, to incorporate my personal opinions into proposals for new functions and other elements of the service.
There is a mindset throughout Rakuten to work efficiently during working hours. For that reason, I am conscious about leaving work on time and valuing the time I have for myself. Right now, I’m enjoying yoga as a hobby. It’s hard to improve, but I’m doing my best to keep it up for health reasons.
For more information on career opportunities, click here.
