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Move over plastic—Gen Z is ghosting credit cards like a clingy ex. In a plot twist that’s got the banks nervously adjusting their ties, Australia’s youngest adults are ditching debt and going old-school: cash, debit, and budgeting apps that passive-aggressively scold them for buying iced lattes.

With inflation still being a financial goblin and wages acting like they’re on a permanent smoke break, Gen Z is tapping into financial minimalism. And no, not the Instagram kind with sepia-toned flatlays—actual restraint. The kind where you say “I’ll pass” to Afterpay and “maybe next month” to that fourth pair of Nikes.

Banks are baffled. Credit card sign-ups are down, buy-now-pay-later has lost its glow, and Gen Z’s love of debit cards means interest revenue’s taking a nosedive. Turns out, watching your friends cry over maxed-out limits is the kind of trauma that breeds caution. Why it matters? Because this isn’t just a financial habit shift—it’s a generational plot twist.

The kids who grew up in the shadow of the GFC and COVID aren’t about that debt life. They’re here for balance sheets, not balance transfers. Latest update? Credit card companies are in crisis mode, and Gen Z is somewhere counting coins in a reclaimed mason jar like it’s 1993 again. Sources: 9News – “Gen Z turning away from credit cards amid cost-of-living crunch” (24 Apr 2025)