The idea of Financial Independence for GenZ and Millennials in India has seen a generational shift, reveals a survey from slice, the creator of slice super card – India’s biggest credit card challenger. In order to decode what financial freedom means to the youth, slice conducted a survey among 2000 people between the ages of 18 and 35, and found that 3 in 4 respondents believe their idea of financial freedom is different from their parents.
A whopping 73% of respondents said that financial independence for them is about ‘making the most of their present’ versus 16% who favored ‘planning the future’ instead. When asked to deep-dive into what constitutes financial freedom, the responses topped with a majority claiming it’s the ‘power to spend on whatever they desire’ (34%), followed by the ‘ability to earn money by pursuing a career of choice’ (25%) and ‘being able to travel the world’ (20%). ‘Purchasing a home’ ranked the lowest (4%), an indication of changing trends towards a preference for living in the moment.
The survey also explored the role financial companies play in people’s quest for financial independence. 65% of the respondents believe that the financial institutions they engage with have a big role to play in their journey. A majority of them, 80%, also stated that their overall ‘experience’ with the organization overtakes the ‘brand legacy’ when choosing their financial partners. Experience here is a holistic metric which includes service as well as product experience.
Commenting on this, Rajan Bajaj, Founder & CEO of slice said, “There is nothing more liberating than feeling financially independent and for genz and millennials today, true financial independence is about having opportunities that help them make the most of NOW. They want access to the best and want that best instantly. For us, at slice, this customer experience is at the foundation of whatever we build and do. Financial companies everywhere need to realise that they have to reinvent legacy models if they want to truly be a long-term partner of today’s youth.”
77% of the respondents also said that they are open to looking beyond their bank to meet their changing financial aspirations.
