Gen Z is embracing emerging technologies as a form of payment at checkout more than their older cohorts, particularly when it comes to mobile wallets.

That’s according to PSCU’s 2023 Eye on Payments research, which—for the sixth year in a row—set out to gauge just how much payment preferences have evolved. During a recent PaymentsJournal podcast, Tom Pierce, Chief Marketing Officer at PSCU, Norm Patrick, Vice President of Advisors Plus Consulting at PSCU, and Brian Riley, Director of Credit and Co-Head of Payments at Javelin Strategy & Research, dove deeper into the report and glimpsed into the key factors influencing consumers when it comes to payment method choice.   

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All Eyes on Gen Z

Younger consumers have taken to different forms of payment at the point of sale, leaning more on emerging technologies, including digital wallets, as their preferred payment methods.

“Nearly four in 10 respondents say they like to use a mobile wallet at the point of sale or when paying for something at a retail location,” Pierce said. “And particularly in the younger audience, at least 28% of older Millennials, younger Millennials, and Gen Zers say they like to use a mobile wallet a few times a week at the point of sale.”

Because Gen Z consumers hold a lot of buying power, it’s important that credit unions and financial institutions market to this specific group—especially when, historically, their target demographic skewed older.

“When you think about what COVID did, it changed so many things,” Riley said. “That was really a launch point for NFC (near-field communication) to start climbing as it did with mobile devices. It’s really starting to scale now, and that’s an interesting point.

“When you talk about the appeal younger age cohorts have, that’s really important, especially when it comes time to talk about credit unions. The median age in the U.S. is 36 to 37 years old, and certainly an older age group for credit unions. So it’s a perfect place to appeal to.”

Unlike their younger counterparts, older consumers are less inclined to use emerging payment methods, opting for traditional payment methods, the PSCU study found.

According to Patrick, 96% of Baby Boomers on the older end of the spectrum prefer more traditional payment methods—particularly debi...