UK Millennials are far less comfortable with debt than older generations and strongly prefer to pay via debit cards for almost every type of product, according to research conducted by YouGov on behalf of Clearpay and involving 2,500+ people.
This shift in attitudes may in part be explained by the rise in student debt. The research notes that, since the UK government tripled the cost of further education in 2015, increasing numbers of young people have student loans. Among current and former students (aged 18-24) 76% have debt, against 56% of under 35’s.
“These findings support similar research we’ve done in the US and Australia where, if anything, young people are even less likely to own a credit card than in the UK,” says Carl Scheible, CEO at Clearpay. “The financial crash left scars on all generations and traditional banks and credit providers lost trust. In the UK young people in particular are looking for new ways to budget and make purchases without falling into debt.”
Other key findings include: Young people strongly prefer to buy clothes and accessories online, with 60% having done so in the past six months (Amazon, somewhat unsurprisingly, is the most popular destination). They are also more interested in new payment methods. For instance, a third of UK Millennials are already using digital wallets, against 23% of Gen X.
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