Finance
How the Finance Industry can win Gen Z Loyalty
Published by Jessica Weisman-Pitts
Posted on October 30, 2023
4 min readLast updated: January 31, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Jessica Weisman-Pitts
Posted on October 30, 2023
4 min readLast updated: January 31, 2026
It is a common misconception that Gen Z does not care about finance.
It is a common misconception that Gen Z does not care about finance.
Research shows that 64% of Gen Z started researching and talking to others about financial planning and that 53% of Gen Z acknowledge their financial literacy has room for improvement but do not know where to start.
This means that Gen Z might be more difficult to reach when it comes to the financial industry, but that is not an impossible feat to achieve.
Gen Z’s financial sentiments are notably influenced by several key factors. Among their chief concerns is the struggle to establish emergency savings due to the inflated cost of living and education, often while managing entry-level positions.
These financial anxieties ripple into their well-being, shaping their attitudes towards money, saving, and financial future.
To reach Gen Z, it is vital to be helpful and supportive and deliver an authentic experience across multiple communication channels. This is why loyalty programs and rewards are a fantastic way of setting your brand apart from other digital competitors and engaging and retaining Gen Z customers.
But what can you effectively do to win the loyalty of this younger generation?
When it comes to picking a financial service provider, Gen Z views the digital banking experience as extremely important, and 20% of Gen Z and Millennials anticipate banking will be 100% online in the future.
It seems that Gen Z’s are more likely to use a new bank or a digital lender since they provide convenience, cost savings, and seamless user experiences.
As a group, Gen Z is interested in more forms of digital experiences, including automated financial assistance (39%), virtual assistants for money management (31%) and customer support (53%).
Make sure you can provide these digital solutions to your younger audience, otherwise, they will switch to a different financial service provider in no time.
A recent study show that social media, particularly Instagram (57%), TikTok (52%) and Snapchat (41%), are the top three social platforms Gen Z turns to for financial information. In general, Gen Z’s have an elevated level of distrust of traditional financial providers and place greater faith in Internet platforms.
They pay closer attention to social media influencers who publish content around personal finances, so consider adding influencer strategy as part of your marketing and plans.
Another vital fact that should set the tone of how you think of this younger audience is that half of the respondents of the study said they are likely to share financial information or advice with a friend or family member – so make sure you offer a good referral bonus to monetise this behaviour.
More than half of Gen Z are aware of direct mail, and 22% of them will make purchases based on an offer they receive via direct mail, so social media is not the only way of connecting with them.
Many in this younger generation are willing to change their financial service provider just because a competitor offers lower interest rates or running a flashy, large-scale awareness campaign.
How do you keep a Gen Z customer loyal? You need to offer them something extra in return for choosing you: if you are just the same as all your competitors, with even higher rates, then why would they choose you?
This is where a loyalty program comes in handy: it can be used to reward Gen Z customers for sticking with you, create new touchpoints with customers, promote content, educate members, and extend the brand’s online presence.
What is more, a loyalty program can effectively bring together all the previous points with the right technology, you can offer a mobile-friendly, easy-to-use loyalty programme, with personalised rewards valuable enough to incentivise customers to stick with you.
You could consider offering points based on card purchases and interactions with your brand on social media, tiers based on members’ account balances, and even a referral program (remember when we said Gen Z is more likely to share financial advice with friends?)
The possibilities are endless, if you keep in mind to offer Gen Z something extra and something with excellent perceived value.
Gen Z views its digital experience as extremely important, and this is also true for the finance industry, be sure to provide digital solutions to your younger clients and try to reach Gen Z through social media and emails.
Give Gen Z a reason to choose you and stay with you, offer them something valuable, like a digital-first loyalty program that rewards them for doing business with you and for interactions with your company on social media.
Financial literacy is the ability to understand and effectively use various financial skills, including personal financial management, budgeting, and investing.
Loyalty programs are marketing strategies designed to encourage customers to continue using a brand's services by offering rewards or incentives.
Digital banking refers to the digitization of all traditional banking activities, allowing customers to conduct transactions online or via mobile apps.
Customer retention is the ability of a company to keep its customers over time, often through strategies that enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Emergency savings are funds set aside to cover unexpected expenses or financial emergencies, providing financial security and peace of mind.
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