‘One can’t just live in the deposit and debit space, Gen Z will need access to credit at some point in their lives’: Mastercard’s Bunita Sawhney on Gen Z’s debit-to-credit transition

March marks International Women’s Day, highlighting women’s integral role in various spheres. This role is now also extending to shaping financial decisions and taking charge in managing household finances, as shared by Bunita Sawhney, Global Head of Consumer Products and Processing at Mastercard, during her presentation at the Tearsheet Gen Z Symposium held recently in NYC.

Sawhney is a member of Mastercard’s Management Committee and also the Global Executive Sponsor of the company’s Women’s Leadership Network, an Advisory Board Member for Women in Payments, and a mentor for the 30% Club.

Women are driving 90% of spending decisions, whether independently or collaboratively. This trend is also evident among Gen Z women, who actively participate in financial discussions and decisions with their partners. In fact, close to half of Gen Z women in relationships, approximately 48%, engage in joint financial planning and decision-making, indicating a paradigm shift toward shared financial responsibility within relationships.

As Gen Z, influenced by their digital upbringing, pushes for modernization at large, financial firms are faced with the challenge of creating and upgrading products that engage and retain this group’s interest, all while effectively addressing their concerns. In Sawhney’s perspective, this underscores the need to adopt novel strategies, cultivate strategic partnerships, and employ communication approaches that resonate with the values, behaviors, and preferences of this generation.

“Gen Z consumers are telling us they want to have a choice and flexible options in the way they operate their financial lives,” Sawhney noted.

Zoomer’s penchant for debit cards