The emerging trend was revealed in a Bankwest survey focusing on the changing influence of technology.
Of the Gen Y respondents who used digital payments for everyday shopping, close to half (44.7%) did so for most purchases, with 48.4% increasing their usage over 12 months.
Much of Gen Y’s adoption and spending trends came in their embrace of digital services, such as music (79.9%), ride sharing (60%), food delivery(59.3%) and video streaming (45.2%).
However, while young Australians reported strong use of banking apps (76.8%) and online banking (56.5%), fewer than one-in-five (18.7%) adopted tech tools to manage their spending.
The digital spend-trend came despite an almost unanimous belief from Gen Y respondents that tech made it easier to spend without thinking (93.5%) and spend money they didn’t have (90.1%).
The reliance on tech for making payments was not as present in the Baby Boomers generation, which placed the least amount of faith in tech for financial management.
Bankwest EGM Customer Solutions and Insights Pieter Vorster said the trend around spending was consistent with the adoption of emerging technologies, especially among younger people.
“When new innovations merge, people often jump in quickly to integrate them into their lifestyles, but they don’t always consider where that can lead them,” Mr Vorster said.
“Banks have an opportunity to better connect their customers with these tools, such as payment alerts and credit limit adjustments, so they can use tech safely, while spending within their limits.”
