There’s no doubt Gen Zs will change fintech as we know it, but the ones likely to have the most influence? Kids today in Asia. 

Fintech ideas born in Asia are starting to influence trends around the world. That means the almost 1 billion children and young adults who count as Gen Z, and who were born into this exciting melting pot of ideas, are going to shape fintech around the world in ways we can only guess at. 

But who are Gen Zs in Asia, and what do they know about money? Their attitudes to life, the world, the universe — and money — are already providing pointers as to what banking and financial services might need to look like in the future. 

We interviewed three young people, student Eira Shah in Singapore, student and TikToker Nick Mair in Australia, and graduate Zahra Niazi in Pakistan about their views on money, work, social media, climate change and more. Then we brought in economist and author Dr Usman Chohan to tease out what the subtext behind their perspectives might mean. Why are so many young adults hung up on financial stability? Are they telling employers to jump because they don’t want to work, or because of an underlying nihilism? Are any of them actually using debt, or is it really millennials padding the stats? 

This episode was produced by Rachel Williamson and Charis Palmer, with sound engineering by Kevin Hirshorn. Music credits to Dimitrix, Noam Zaguri, Ran Raiten, Raz Burg, Alex MakeMusic, Jasmine J. Walker, Brianna Tam, Balloon Planet, audio credits to @Parrot.Finance, @calltoleap.