2026
9
US Consumer Attitudes toward Fintech: 2026
2026-03-05T02:01:55+00:00
REPA22467E0_72D5_4DD6_A467_E072D51DD6AF
3695
191743
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Report
en_GB
Fintech usage has crossed a threshold from novelty to normalized behavior: nearly 60% of Gen Z adults report using crypto and one‑tap payments via wearables are increasingly embedded in everyday…
US
FinTech
Consumer Attitudes
simple

US Consumer Attitudes toward Fintech: 2026

"As money management disperses across wearables, wallets, and even retail platforms, fintechs that embed themselves into consumers' day‑to‑day lives are positioned to define the next phase of their growth."

Amr Hamdi, Senior Analyst - Financial Services

Amr Hamdi, Senior Analyst - Financial Services

Fintech usage has crossed a threshold from novelty to normalized behavior: nearly 60% of Gen Z adults report using crypto and one‑tap payments via wearables are increasingly embedded in everyday spending patterns. As financial activity diffuses across smartphones, smartwatches, and even retail platforms, consumers are shifting their expectations – banking functions should interact seamlessly within the digital environments they already use.

Within this landscape, the opportunity for embedded, low‑friction financial services is growing. Providers that integrate into high‑frequency consumer touchpoints can establish habitual engagement early, often before rival consideration occurs. At the same time, the risk of disintermediation for legacy FIs is rising: as tech ecosystems capture more of the customer interface, incumbent FIs face the prospect of being relegated to more of a back-seat role, with diminished access to customers’ day-to-day financial lives, share-of-attention, and fewer cross‑sell pathways.

This report looks at the following areas:

  • Market factors affecting the fintech space
  • Interest in, and adoption of, fintech
  • Openness to banking with non-banks
  • Attitudes toward fintech
  • Channels used to interact with financial services providers
  • Fintech marketing trends
Collapse All
  1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

    • What you need to know
    • Outlook for Consumers and Fintech
    • Opportunities
    • Wearables are becoming a go-to daily payment
    • Graph 1: adoption of wearable payment devices, by household income, 2024-26
    • Wearable adoption creates partnership-driven engagement opportunities for FIs
    • SMS can deepen borrowing relationships
    • Graph 2: openness to bank texts about new products/offers, by financial product ownership, 2026
    • Financial Wrappeds can serve as timely product nudges
    • Graph 3: interest in banks providing annual financial roundups (eg Spotify wrapped), by generation, 2024-26
  2. THE MARKET

    • Embedded finance is shifting the financial battlefield to platforms consumers already trust
    • Economic pressures will lead LIHs toward fintechs
    • Graph 4: % of consumers financially worse off over the past 12 months, by household income, 2025
    • Digital assets are moving into a more defined regulatory structure
  3. THE CONSUMER

    • Interest in and adoption of fintech
    • Prime credit bands remain an addressable audience for bank BNPL
    • Graph 5: usage of pure-play vs bank BNPL, by self-reported credit score, 2026
    • Financial strain breeds greater interest in money-management tools
    • Graph 6: interest in financial management tools through FI, by financial situation, 2026
    • Crypto adoption is soaring among Gen Zers, while older adults’ adoption is more cyclical
    • Graph 7: cryptocurrency adoption, by generation, 2021-26
    • Openness to banking with non-banks
    • Account consideration is shifting toward the retail giants
    • Graph 8: non-banks consumers would open an account with, 2021-26
    • There is significant interest in opening core banking products with non-banks
    • Graph 9: accounts consumers would be interested in opening with a non-bank, by generation, 2026
    • Diverse card preferences open the door for acquisition opportunities across credit bands
    • Graph 10: accounts consumers would be interested in opening with a non-bank, by self-reported credit score, 2026
    • Attitudes toward fintech
    • Mobile wallets are settling into a habitual payment solution
    • Graph 11: % of consumers that prefer using a mobile wallet to make purchases, by generation, 2024-26
    • Foreign-born consumers remain an addressable market for inclusive credit scoring
    • Preference toward human advisors is not wealth-driven
    • Graph 12: attitudes toward human advisory, by household investable assets, 2026
    • Trust in legacy FIs diverges by financial health
    • Graph 13: attitudes toward legacy FIs vs fintechs, by financial situation, 2026
    • Channels used to interact with financial providers
    • Stagnating mobile preferences signal the channel’s maturity
    • Graph 14: channels used to interact most often with providers, 2019-26
    • Older consumers are slowly catching up on mobile adoption
    • Graph 15: mobile app usage as the most frequent interaction channel with providers, by generation, 2021-26
  4. INNOVATION AND MARKETING

    • Cash App is “making crypto everyday money”
    • Cross-border credit history is becoming a practical underwriting solution
    • Discover ties rewards to wallet usage
    • Orange County’s Credit Union positions its branch as an engagement hub
  5. APPENDIX

    • The consumer
    • Consumer research questions
    • Consumer research methodology – US
    • US generations groups
    • Abbreviations

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