Millennials With Money: How Younger Consumers are Managing Their Finances

Millennials with high incomes, or consumers ages 18 to 32 who earn $100,000 or more each year, are increasing their use of general purpose reloadable (GPR) prepaid cards while continuing to use traditional banking products such as debit cards and checking accounts for their finances. Sixty percent of high-income Millennials reported having a GPR card in 2014, compared to 49 percent in 2013. Overall, 25 percent of households used  GPR cards in 2013 and 2014 and overall ownership rates did not increase as much as they had between 2012 and 2013 (4 percent.) However, there was a jump from 49 percent of Millennials with household incomes of $100,000 or more and GPR cards in 2013 to 60 percent with GPR cards in 2014. Two other segments—Generation X with household incomes of $50,000 to $99,900 and those ages 68 and older—were the only other groups to own GPR cards in 2014 at proportionately higher rates than in 2013. In 2013 and 2014, 71 percent of consumers who owned GPR cards were younger than 49.