Generation Z may be the first cohort to grow up entirely in the digital economy, but the real surprise in their financial behavior isn’t what they buy, it’s how confidently they buy it.
The PYMNTS Intelligence report, “Gen Z Financial Habits Put Debit, Wallets and Influencers in Charge,” shows that for these consumers, the perceived safety of digital wallets, debit rails and social recommendations carries as much weight as the transactions themselves. The result is a generation navigating financial life with assumptions that don’t always align with reality.
The report finds that Gen Z is rewriting the consumer playbook. They save more of their income than their elders, but keep much of it in digital wallets and even crypto.
At checkout, they default to debit, yet are faster than any group to adopt Apple Pay and buy now, pay later (BNPL) tools.
Amazon is their primary marketplace, mobile is their preferred grocery aisle, and social influencers carry disproportionate sway in shaping what ends up in their carts.
But beneath those headline findings lies a more nuanced story: Gen Z’s embrace of digital payment methods reflects a confidence in real-time systems that may mask hidden risks.
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Their perception of safety in debit cards, wallets and embedded pay-later products contrasts with the complexity of fraud threats those very systems face. The report suggests a widening gap between how Gen Z thinks about financial security and how providers must actually manage it.
Debit feels safe, but fraud persists. Forty-two percent of Gen Z grocery transactions run on debit, double the share of credit. Many say debit feels like “money they own,” yet debit rails are often the front line for fraud attempts, carrying fewer protections than credit in disputed transactions.
Wallets inspire trust more than banks. Thirteen percent of Gen Z savings are stored in digital wallets, and 6.3% in crypto. Digital containers are trusted more than traditional accounts, though fraud and loss remediation in those instruments remains uneven across providers.
Influencers drive confidence — not just purchases. Eighty-one percent of Gen Z sometimes or often buy based on influencer recommendations, nearly three times the rate of boomers. Social cues double as trust signals, even though influencers have no role in guaranteeing transaction security.
The implications for issuers, acquirers and FinTechs are stark: Product adoption is no longer just about convenience or rewards. It’s about trust signals, some grounded in system resilience, others in the perceptions of peers or personalities. That disconnect creates both opportunity and liability.
Other findings in the report round out the portrait. Gen Z saves more than any other generation — 36% of income in the last six months versus 27% for older cohorts — but in newer containers. They use BNPL at higher rates (18% versus 12% for older consumers), but hold fewer credit cards overall (55% versus 71%).
Their monthly balances are lighter, at $1,667 against $1,959 for others, a fact that may influence how lenders underwrite and design rewards programs going forward.
For financial providers, the message is clear: Gen Z’s rails may look familiar, but their trust is built differently. Aligning reality with perception and making sure the systems are as safe as Gen Z assumes may prove just as important as offering the right product at the right moment.