"Gen Z has been labeled many things: digital natives, TikTok champions, the . But perhaps no connotation has stuck quite like financially anxious. Headlines regularly paint this cohort as stressed about money, risk-averse, and paralyzed by economic uncertainty. As someone who's spent nearly a decade building a new generation of financial products, I think we're missing the real story. Yes, Gen Z exhibits financial anxiety -but not in the way most people think."
"Gen Z didn't grow up with the luxury of financial naivety that many before them enjoyed. They came of age during the 2008 financial crisis, watched their parents struggle with student loan debt, and entered adulthood during a global pandemic that upended economic stability. They've seen what happens when loved ones overextend themselves financially, and they're determined to work hard not to repeat those mistakes."
Gen Z increasingly avoids credit cards and prefers debit and installment payments, reflecting deliberate payment choices rather than ignorance. Afterpay data indicates that more than half of Gen Z report getting the "ick" from credit cards and 63% switch to alternative payment methods, while Visa and Mastercard report U.S. debit spending outpacing credit growth. At Afterpay, about 90% of installments are paid with a debit card globally. Generational experiences such as the 2008 financial crisis, parental student-loan burdens, and the pandemic shaped cautious financial behavior. High credit-card APRs and observed consequences of indebtedness drive calculated decisions to minimize long-term financial stress.
Read at Fortune
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