Gen Z Faces Government Payment Hurdles, PYMNTS-Visa Study Finds

Government disbursements can be a critical source of liquidity for young consumers covering rent, bills and everyday expenses. Delays caused by payment clearing or identity checks can strain household cash flow and trigger added costs. Such friction also carries consequences for public agencies, which may face higher operating expenses, more manual processing and increased customer-service demand, making faster and more reliable delivery a key issue in the modernization of government payments.

A study by PYMNTS Intelligence and Visa Direct found that 63% of Gen Z consumers encountered difficulties when receiving government disbursements. The obstacles included problems with funds clearing and identity verification, potentially delaying access to money and limiting recipients’ ability to manage near-term expenses. The available report details did not specify a publication date, survey sample size, disbursement amounts or average delay, leaving those metrics to be clarified in the full research.