Young adults are more likely than average to buy prepaid cards but there’s a relatively serious decline underway in the number of 25-34 years olds buying prepaid cards. In 2016, 81% of 25-34 years olds had bought a prepaid card in the last year. Today, 66% of 25-34 year olds have bought a prepaid card in the last year. Similar declines are prevalent among “Gen Z” aged adults, 18-24 year old, where today 68% have purchased a prepaid card down from a similar 2016 high of 77%. Age isn’t the only characteristic in prepaid’s decline, high-income earners are also buying in fewer numbers.
Data for this episode of Truth In Data provided by Mercator Advisory Group’s report Consumers and Prepaid: Shifting Toward Digital