Gen Z, defined as those born in 1997 or after, must be a top priority for all merchants and their service providers. The generation includes consumers as old as 25, meaning the generation is already spending as adult consumers, and the age group’s spending will skyrocket in the years to come. Merchants need to build relationships with Gen Zers now in order to rack up sales and have relationships with young consumers that could last for decades.

But merchants, especially small- and medium-size businesses (SMB), don’t have the time or ability to really consider and incorporate Gen Z’s payment preferences. Many merchants hand off their payments operations to service providers that handle acceptance, acquiring, gateway services, and more. That means it falls to these providers, such as payment facilitators (PayFac), acquirers, and point-of-sale (POS) technology providers, to help their merchants best serve Gen Z by identifying Gen Z’s preferences and finding ways to position merchants for success.

• What are Gen Z’s current payment preferences?
• How will Gen Z’s payment preferences evolve as they grow older, and which ones will make them unique?
• What strategies should merchant service providers employ to help their merchants succeed with Gen Z now and in the decades to come?

Companies mentioned:

Affirm, Afterpay, Amazon, Apple, Cash App, Google, Klarna, Paypal, Samsung, Starbucks, Venmo, Western Union, Zelle