Gen Z: The Digital Generation That Needs Earned Wage Access

Ava wakes up to the alarm on her smartphone, swipes on her dating app, and starts a conversation with someone who seems attractive. Before she even rolls out of bed, she has a date confirmed for Friday night. She takes an Uber to work and does her grocery shopping on the way. That evening, she dashes off a blog post for her side gig and winds down by streaming a couple of episodes of the latest serial sensation. She falls asleep to the sounds of the mindfulness app on her phone.

Welcome to the world of Generation Z.

Gen Z’s identity and the digital landscape are tightly linked. In fact, 58 percent of Gen Z said they can’t go more than four hours without internet access before they become uncomfortable.[1] The latest generation to enter the workforce expects immediate access to anything they need, usually via technology. They expect the freedom that technology offers them to choose how they navigate their lives.

Money also matters to Gen Z. The fear of being broke motivates nearly half (45 percent) of Gen Z to enter the workforce globally, and that number is higher in the US (57 percent). Timeliness of pay is so important to Gen Z that over a third of them reported they would never tolerate a paycheck error.[2] More than that, Gen Z wants immediate access to their pay. They have little or no patience with the way pay is handled by most companies today, requiring them to wait out the pay period to get access to their earned wages.

Recruitment of this demographic—the largest generation in the US at 91 million[3]—requires companies to understand this generational need and build it into the digital infrastructure of their payroll system.

As the leading provider in Earned Wage Access (EWA), PayActiv can help. It’s already helping by enabling over one thousand US businesses to provide workers with access to their earned yet unpaid wages. Four out of five PayActiv users say they appreciate the immediate access to their funds that comes with the PayActiv Visa^® payroll card.

As a holistic financial wellness platform, PayActiv also aligns with Gen Z’s digital preferences in other ways. Along with EWA, users can access Uber rides and Amazon shopping, budgeting and savings tools, and trustworthy and unbiased financial counselors, all through the PayActiv app.

Now, wherever Ava’s day takes her, she has immediate access to her earned wages.

With PayActiv, your workers do, too.

It’s time they lived the life they’ve earned.

[1] “Generation Influence: Results from the 2020 Gen Z Report,” WP Engine, 2020, https://wpengine.com/gen-z-us/.

[2] Full Report: Generation Z in the Workplace, Workforce Institute @ Kronos, November 2019,

[3] Full Report: Generation Z in the Workplace.