Gen Z spending habits: Convenience is key, prefer quick commerce and longer repayment tenure, finds report

Gen Z's approaches credit and spending differently from older generations, credit-on-UPI platform Kiwi said in a report this month. It said internal data showed that younger consumers prefer convenience, use credit for larger purchases and opt for longer repayment tenures when financing high-value expenses.

“Gen Z is not necessarily using credit more frequently; they are using it differently. Our data shows that convenience is playing a much bigger role in how younger consumers make payment and credit decisions,” Siddharth Mehta, Co-Founder and COO of Kiwi, said in the release.

According to Mehta, Gen Z opts for quick commerce for everyday purchases and credit for larger expenses, where “the focus is increasingly on ease and flexibility rather than simply maximising rewards”.

“The trends point to a shift in how India's younger consumers approach credit, with convenience, flexibility and affordability of monthly payments emerging as important factors in their spending and financing decisions,” the report added.

Kiwi is a fintech company that builds credit-on-UPI products for Indian consumers. It has issued more than 2 lakh RuPay credit cards in two years, as per the statement. The release covered internal data from 25,000 users on the platform between June to July 2026, it added.

An earlier study by SalarySe showed that digital payments formed the core of Gen Z's financial management. It analysed spending habits of more than 5.2 lakh users and noted that spending by India's youngest workforce is concentrated around a few core categories that support everyday living — from managing utility bills, recurring subscriptions and financial services.

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Jocelyn Fernandes is a journalist and editor with nearly 13 years of experience covering the business, corporate, economy and markets beats in news.<br> As chief content producer for around three years at Livemint (Hindustan Times), Jocelyn publishes breaking stories, explainers, features and live blogs on a range of business and economy topics, including the Budget, corporate developments, stock markets, income tax, money and personal finance, cryptocurrency, government policy, impact of US tariffs, international developments and more.<br> Jocelyn's writing philosophy is focused on delivering news in an accurate and accessible format for readers.