OPINION | The generation that taps

By Tshiamo Molanda, Head of Personal Banking South Africa at Standard Bank

By almost any measure, South Africa’s under-35s are leading a profound shift in how money moves through the economy. The 2026 Standard Bank Youth Barometer shows that they have embraced digital payments at a pace that far exceeds older generations. They are more likely to use digital wallets, virtual cards, QR Code payments. For this generation, tap-to-pay isn’t an alternative payment method; it’s the default.

But this isn’t just a story about technology. It is a story about two generations shaped by different worlds.

The world that shaped their relationship with money

The way people think about money is often shaped by the world they grow up in. For many South Africans born before 2000, financial life developed in an era where cash dominated, bank cards were physical, banking happened in branches and trust in financial institutions was built through face-to-face interactions. Managing money often meant visiting a branch, withdrawing cash, keeping paper records and planning around banking hours.

For younger South Africans, the experience has been very different. Those born post the year 2000 grew up alongside smartphones, social media, online shopping and app-based services. Financial services became increasingly available through mobile devices, information was accessible in real time and transactions could be completed instantly. As a result, technology did not simply change how young people managed money it changed what they expected from financial services.

These differences matter because people’s relationship with technology is often shaped by the environment in which their brains develop. Research consistently suggests that technologies adopted during formative years often become innate behaviours later in life. Younger consumers have spent much of their lives with screens in their hands. Older consumers had to learn these technologies later in adulthood, when habits and routines were already established.

So, it is not too surprising why the younger generation tends to approach new payment technologies with curiosity and experimentation, while older consumers do so gradually – and often with scepticism.  Nowhere is this more evident than in digital payments.

The Youth Barometer shows that although under-35s account for only 16% of Standard Bank credit card customers, they make up 29% of people using digital wallets. They have significantly higher adoption of virtual cards, contactless and QR-code payments. For older consumers, digital payments often represent an additional option. For younger consumers, it’s the preferred option.

The distinction is subtle but important: older generations tend to ask, “Can I trust this?” while younger generations are more likely to ask, “Does this make my life easier?”

Subscriptions, online shopping and the rise of invisible spending

Now add the rise of e-commerce to that: it has normalised digital trust among younger consumers, making them comfortable managing payments and other financial transactions entirely through a screen, placing trust in digital security and virtual cards where previous generations may have preferred face-to-face interaction.

Not only are online carts replacing some physical store visits, but spending itself is becoming more automated. Subscription services have accustomed younger consumers to recurring digital payments, creating an environment where transactions occur automatically in the background. This, in turn, has strengthened trust in digital ecosystems and accelerated the adoption of virtual cards, digital wallets and other digital payment technologies.

By contrast, many older consumers came of age in a far less automated financial environment. Purchases were typically deliberate, one-off decisions made in-store, with cash or physical cards changing hands at the point of sale. This makes the shift to a fully digital financial ecosystem a much bigger behavioural leap for them.

But the contrast doesn’t end there.

The changing role of the credit card

When looking at credit cards, the behavioural differences become even more apparent.

Historically, credit cards were largely viewed as borrowing tools. They were often reserved for emergencies, major purchases or periods of financial strain. That role is changing dramatically among younger consumers.

The Youth Barometer reveals that consumers under 35 primarily use credit cards for everyday spending categories including groceries, fuel, transport, restaurants and digital subscriptions. Their cards function less as borrowing instruments and more as transactional tools for building credit profiles, earning higher rewards and managing their cash flow.

The mindset is fundamentally different. Rather than asking, “How do I borrow money?” many young consumers are asking, “How can I make the money I’m already spending work harder for me?”

This behaviour may also reflect the different financial worlds in which the two generations came of age. Many older consumers began their banking journeys with debit cards. They gradually expanded into credit products later in life. Today’s youth often experience both simultaneously.

As younger consumers become the dominant economic force, the behaviours they are normalising today will become mainstream tomorrow. The evolution from cash to cards, and from cards to digital wallets and virtual payments, is already reshaping how people transact.

The Youth Barometer suggests a similar change is happening in how youth use credit. Rather than seeing credit cards simply as a way to borrow, they are using them as tools for credit footprint finances and creating opportunities. If this mindset continues, it could reshape how future generations buy homes, finance cars and invest. The question is whether we are doing enough to understand these young consumers, what drives them, and how their choices could shape our world tomorrow.