By 
By Network International
Young people are currently playing a central role in changing how payments work. Many use mobile wallets, contactless cards, peer-to-peer payment apps, and other digital tools in their everyday lives. As for many, the question revolves around whether those payment experiences actually fit the way they live, earn and spend.
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This distinction matters a lot, as PYMNTS Intelligence reports that 85% of Gen Z consumers prefer digital payments over cash, while 91% describe themselves as digital-first users. Ernst & Young’s 2024 Gen Z Payments Survey found that Gen Z consumers are up to three times more likely than older generations to use alternative payment methods, including contactless payments, digital wallets, peer-to-peer payment apps and Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services.
Thus, we can all agree that the issue of young people already embracing digital payments is already a moot point. The next challenge now is giving them a meaningful role in shaping what comes next.
Why payment innovation needs to start with real users
The payments industry has traditionally focused on reducing transaction costs, strengthening security and expanding acceptance. While these priorities remain important, it is also important to note that a payment product also needs to solve the everyday problems of the person using it.
Young people often experience money differently from previous generations. Many earn their income from lines of work such as freelancing, content creation, e-commerce, ride-hailing, online gaming and other forms of gig work. This means that their income may come from several sources and arrive at different times.
Moreover, they move constantly between physical and digital commerce, carrying with them the expectation that their payment tools will move just as easily.
The Alliance for Financial Inclusion notes that low uptake of some financial products often comes from designs that overlook the specific needs and constraints of young people. In other words, an adoption problem can start as a design problem
Design around how young people actually manage money
Let’s think about the everyday frustrations that they might face. A student will want an easier way to split a restaurant bill. A freelancer will want budgeting tools that make sense when income changes from month to month. Whereas a small online seller wants to receive and manage payments without moving between several platforms.
These are real-world, relatable problems. The most useful payment innovations often succeed because they remove this type of friction. Therefore, the next generation of products, i.e. QR payments, digital wallets, contactless cards and peer-to-peer apps, should follow the same principle by responding to changing consumer behaviour.
Bring young people into the design process earlier
Co-creation gives businesses a clearer view of what users actually need. In July 2026, students taking part in Luxembourg’s Financial Wellbeing FinTech Hackathon worked alongside banks and technology companies to develop solutions around financial challenges they experience as young adults. Their ideas focused on areas such as budgeting, financial wellbeing and simpler digital experiences.
This approach changes the conversation entirely. Instead of building a finished product and asking young people what they think, organisations can involve them from the start. This is all thanks to university partnerships, youth advisory groups, innovation labs and product testing programmes, which all create opportunities to do this.
Why technology alone will not solve the problem
AI, embedded finance, biometric authentication and wearable payments are transforming consumer relationships with funds. AI can help detect fraud, improve customer service and provide personalised financial guidance. Embedded finance brings payments into the apps and platforms people already use, while wearable devices make everyday payments faster and easier.
But better technology does not automatically create a better payment experience. A sophisticated feature adds little value if users find it confusing or irrelevant to how they manage money. That is why human insight remains essential in ensuring technology supports what people need, not decide those needs for them.
Africa has a chance to build payments differently
Africa has one of the youngest populations in the world, with more than 70% of sub-Saharan Africa’s population under the age of 30. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the share of adults making digital payments in developing economies increased from 55% in 2021 to 62% in 2024,
With the ever-growing participation of youth in the labor market, in businesses and in the digital economy, their voice in shaping the development of commerce will keep increasing. Banks, regulators, fintechs and payment providers need to place a greater emphasis on young people not just as customers but as partners in innovation instead.
They need to listen to them early, test ideas with them, understand how they earn, spend and move between the physical and digital commerce spaces. This will help the industry build payment experiences that remain relevant as the next generation of consumers takes shape
