What: Visa explores the multilayers impacts of the Gen Z’s rise

Why it is important:  A new customer base is coming, and they master the digital codes better than the retailers. The latter should be prepared.

Visa observes that the world economy is about to undergo a significant change with the rise of the tech-savvy Generation Z, in parallel with the emergence of new technologies such as the Metaverse and digital currencies. This could prove pivotal for the payment industry and its trajectory. For them, this economic change is secular, as opposed to cyclical or even structural.

Paradoxically, Gen Z will represent 1 out of 3 adults in 2026, to be compared with the baby boomer generation which represented 1 adult out of 2 in its time. However, their understanding and capabilities to use tech are expected to help them lead a secular change, as when this generation will mature, 60% of the world population will  have been born in a world where the Internet is essential.

Visa expects the metaverse to take off along with the evolution of gaming and the price reduction of the devices needed to access it. It will also help the use of cryptocurrencies, which are still either a niche or a gimmick today.

Gen Z and the metaverse according to Visa