The rapid development of fintech services is transforming spending patterns and consumer behaviour, and Soon Sze Meng finds himself right at the forefront of that revolution.

As Hong Kong-based senior director and general manager of PayPal, with responsibilities also extending to Taiwan and South Korea, he is overseeing expansion of the firm’s digital payments platform. Around the world, it already has close to 203 million active account holders, giving merchants and consumers the ability to conduct transactions online, on a mobile device, via an app, or in person.

“It is simple and secure,” Soon says. “In effect, we are providing a digital wallet which can be funded from a bank account, credit or debit card, with the funding source determining what can be spent. We are working in partnership with major financial institutions to create better ways to move and manage money, offering choice and flexibility whether you are paying or getting paid.”

To this end, the company obtained an SVF (stored value facilities) licence from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) in November last year and is now focused on increasing the number of merchants, enhancing predictive data analytics, and implementing new bio-protection features.

“Moving forward, we see a lot of opportunities to provide more services for fintech consumers. Passwords, e-touch functionality and fingerprint ID make transactions very straightforward, but with mobile phone penetration almost ubiquitous, we can support merchants and consumers to make more use of that interface.”

A native Singaporean, Soon, whose father was in the construction sector, describes his upbringing as “pretty middle class”. From quite early, though, he became fascinated by how societies and markets function and, more broadly, how they affect modern civilisation.

Therefore, he opted for a four-year course in political science and economics at the National University of Singapore (NUS) set to start after a compulsory period of national service from 1996-98. This included a year of basic infantry training followed by officer cadet school and, like many before him, Soon now appreciates the wide range of lessons learned in that environment.

“As a 20-year-old lieutenant giving orders for live-fire exercises in New Zealand and Thailand, you have big responsibilities,” he says. “Fundamentally, a military mistake can result in loss of life. You are with conscripts and have to motivate them not just by using authority, but by investing time to get them to go beyond the basics. That really shapes you from a leadership perspective.”

Later, another key turning point was a summer exchange programme at Stanford University after his first year at NUS. It was a chance to observe start-ups, interact with a more diverse group of students and, subsequently, engineer a transfer to Stanford to complete an inter-disciplinary BA in public policy.

Graduating in 2002, Soon returned to Singapore and a position with Monitor Group, a strategy consulting firm, where he got a solid grounding by helping clients in different sectors grow their business with practical go-to-market plans.

“I enjoyed it tremendously,” he says. “It trained me to think longer term and strategically. It also taught me to be fact-based and insight-driven in decision making and showed the importance of being able to persuade and influence other people.”

Keen to build on this, Soon signed on in 2005 for the two-year MBA at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University outside Chicago. Originally intending to return to Monitor, he reconsidered when a summer internship with consultancy firm McKinsey led to the offer a full-time post.

“What attracted me were their values, depth of expertise, and networks around the world,” he says. “Working there also reinforced my philosophy that, first and foremost, you should aim to do an excellent job whatever position you are in and keep finding opportunities to stretch yourself.”

To that end, in 2009 he joined Visa in Singapore. Initially assigned to their internal strategy group for the Asia-Pacific region, he later undertook projects on cross-border marketing and then led the China marketing team from a base in Shanghai.

“Overall, the focus was to build the brand by driving card activation and usage on more occasions and in more categories,” he says. “In China, it was astounding how fast the market was growing and to see the speed and scale of innovation in payment systems.”

He views the switch to PayPal earlier this year as a chance to work in a dynamic market, with considerable potential for promoting use of the services by Hong Kong-based merchants and further developing online e-commerce on a global basis.

“My interaction with the HKMA shows they are forward-thinking and working in close partnership with all the industry players to enable growth of the fintech space,” he says. “It is an exciting time to be in Hong Kong. So, in career terms, I believe I will continue to focus on this sector, given the challenges, the speed of change, and the benefits it can bring to so many people.”

When off duty, besides family commitments, Soon devotes time to roles on the Singapore advisory council of international charity World Vision and with SkillsFuture Singapore, a statutory board recently formed to drive the concept of life-long learning.

He also contributes occasional commentary pieces for the opinion pages of the Straits Times on topics ranging from social mobility and meritocracy to tech disruption and how communities can adapt to change in a positive way.

“I like to write on different business and policy-related issues, if I believe it’s appropriate and can add to the conversation,” he says. “It is a way for me to think things through and I find it’s quite therapeutic.”

POWER POINTERS

Soon Sze Meng’s advice for a winning career

Be versatile  “In our industry, you must be adaptable because the requirements of a job someone is hired into may well change quite significantly within a relatively short time. You have to be ready for that.”

Co-operate  “The company’s core values are built around collaboration, innovation, wellness and inclusion. That entails listening to different points of view and believing our technologies will enable more merchants and consumers to participate in the global economy.”

Be selfless  “Focus on being a team player and giving credit to others. When no one is concerned about trying to take credit for themselves, great results are more likely to happen.”

Work up a sweat  “It might seem like old-fashioned advice, but work hard if you want to get ahead. The right attitude and approach will get you noticed.”

Make it enjoyable  “As far as possible, always try to have fun in what you do. There’s no doubt that people give their best if they enjoy their work and appreciate the opportunities they have.”

This article appeared in the Classified Post print edition as Credit where it's due.