The First Generation to Go Bankless Isn’t the Poor — It’s the Digital-Native 

Financial systems are undergoing a radical shift. Nearly every adult in the world now carries a smartphone, and 84% in low- and middle-income countries own mobile phones. This connectivity is transforming how people save, pay and borrow. Historically, “bankless” meant lacking access. Today, it increasingly means choosing wallets over banks by design. 79% of adults globally have some financial account (bank or mobile), but the fastest growth is in digital access. In emerging markets, mobile-money transactions per person exploded from about 55 in 2017 to 251 in 2024, a surge that far outstrips growth in bank transfers. The result is a “wallet-first” economy: individuals hold digital accounts tied to phone numbers and stablecoins rather than to branch offices.

Young people are driving this change. Surveys show Gen Z and Millennials adopt smartphone payments far faster than older cohorts. In the U.S., over half of 18–25 year-olds already use digital wallets for payments. 80% of Gen Z say making payments by mobile device is important, reflecting how phones have become their primary “banking” tool. Similar patterns emerge globally: a recent study found about 60% of Nigerians (mostly age 18–34) regularly use digital payment methods. In short, the generation that grew up online is comfortable handling money without cash or branches. They check and move funds from apps instead of bank-ledger entries.

In many countries, especially in Africa and Asia, mobile wallets have become the de facto bank account. Users receive salaries, pay bills and send remittances entirely through wallet apps. For example, Kenya now reports about 85% of adults have formal financial access, largely due to mobile money. Daily mobile-money usage in Kenya jumped from 23.6% of adults in 2021 to 50.2% in 2024– half the country transacting daily on M-Pesa and similar platforms. In Nigeria, tens of millions carry mobile wallets on their phones: 60% of Nigerians use digital payments, skewed to the young demographic. These markets prove that for digital-natives, having a bank branch is secondary to having a mobile wallet. Money comes in and out via apps tied to phone numbers or crypto addresses, not account numbers at a branch. 

Many of these digital-first users are also embracing stablecoins. In Nigeria and South Africa, surveys show roughly 80% of cryptocurrency users hold dollar-pegged stablecoins. In Nigeria specifically, about 95% of crypto-active users prefer receiving payments in stablecoins rather than the local currency (naira). These trends reflect real needs: when inflation or volatility bites, digital natives turn to dollar-stable tokens as a kind of store-of-value and settlement asset. Globally, stablecoin market value has just topped $300 billion, and financial firms are responding. For example, Interactive Brokers now lets clients fund brokerage accounts directly from crypto wallets instead of bank accounts. In effect, a younger trader can pay for stocks from an on-chain dollar balance rather than from a linked bank.

This shift does not mean banks vanish, it means they often recede to the background. IMF data show that in many developing economies, mobile-money accounts have surpassed bank deposit accounts. That is, more people “bank” with M-Pesa than with Citibank. In practice, incumbents are becoming plumbing for digital rails. Some big players are adapting their offerings to stay relevant: for example, Circle and Visa are testing partnerships to let users pay directly in stablecoins. The core point is that financial identity is migrating to wallets and tokens. A young person’s assets might be tracked by their phone number or crypto address, not by an IBAN at Deutsche Bank. Even traditional financial networks are integrating: Immersive payment firms and neo-banks now offer crypto wallets as part of standard apps.

These developments are reshaping the financial world. On one hand, digital natives enjoy 24/7 access, instant global transfers and protection against local currency swings. For example, digital remittances are booming: nearly half of cross-border remittance flows are now sent via digital channels (up from 13% in 2019), often bypassing correspondent banks. Regulators and institutions are scrambling to catch up. Stablecoin adoption at scale raises questions about supervision; even as wallets grow, banks must evolve into compliance partners and infrastructure providers. In the U.S., regulators are beginning to craft clearer rules, and in Africa, countries like Nigeria and South Africa are debating how to integrate stablecoins without undermining policy. Crucially, tech-savvy users now view financial access as a given, what matters to them is speed, cost and stability (e.g. 80% of U.S. Gen Z say mobile-pay convenience is vital). The new generation is comfortable moving money, not just storing it.

In summary, going “bankless” is no longer a marker of exclusion, but of being plugged into a new system. Digital-native consumers are building wealth and conducting commerce in a parallel financial architecture: mobile wallets, digital currencies, and instant platforms. According to Thunes – a global payment network – their platform already links 7+ billion mobile and stablecoin wallets worldwide, underscoring how mainstream these tools have become. The net effect is that first-world technology meets third-world necessity: the young in Lagos, Nairobi or Mumbai can bypass slow legacy banks entirely. For the general public, the takeaway is that a “bank” can now be a phone app and a dollar token. And for policymakers and businesses, it signals that the financial rules and products designed for previous generations may no longer apply. The digital-native generation is effectively the first to voluntarily opt out of traditional banks – not out of poverty, but because an alternative is simply more efficient and accessible.