Every generation has its own way of splitting the bill. Boomers regularly pick up the tab, and Gen Xers often split the bill among multiple credit cards.
But when it comes to Gen Z, money transfer apps such as Venmo and Zelle have flipped the script. Gen Zers often rely on one person to pay the whole bill up front, with the unstated assumption that they will settle up later.
Well, it turns out Gen Zers aren’t actually paying each other back.
That’s the finding of a June 30 study from the Zelle Avoidance Economy Report: The Group Chat Is Lit. Settling Up Is Another Story, in which 76% of Gen Z consumers surveyed said they weren’t fully repaid after fronting money for a group trip or event.
According to the study, 55% said the situation had created tension or negatively affected relationships. And get this: Nearly half of the study participants (47%) said they’ve gone into debt to cover group expenses.
“No one wants the best part of a trip to be followed by the worst part: chasing friends to pay you back,” Denise Leonhard, general manager of Zelle, said in a press release. “Shared experiences should bring people closer, not create debt, tension or awkward group chat reminders.”
When it comes to big sporting and music events—such as the World Cup, Super Bowl, Coachella festival, or the U.S. Open—half of Americans surveyed by Zelle spent less than $2,500 per person, but 37% of Gen Z consumers spent at least $2,501 per person on average, the highest of any generation.
According to Zelle, Gen Z is emerging as the generation with the largest average spending on major group travel and event experiences. But unlike other generations, as spending rises among Gen Zers, paying back what they owe lags behind.
Among all the generations surveyed, 28% of people who borrow money for shared expenses say they pay up immediately, or the same day of the expenditure. However, that’s not true for Gen Z consumers: 18% say it can take up to a month to pay someone back; 10% say it can take two to six months; and 11% say they might take longer than six months to pay back what they owe.
That’s as the study identifies “payment avoidance”—consumers delaying, ignoring, or withdrawing from uncomfortable money conversations with friends and family—as a prominent social behavior.
The Zelle Avoidance Economy Report is based on two nationwide surveys the company conducted, in May 2026 of 1,000 Americans, and in June 2026 of 1,000 Zelle super-users. The report explores how Americans handle shared expenses, particularly for expensive cultural purchases.
