Financial transactions have become incredibly simple, and for Gen Z and Millennials, sending money is no longer a hassle. With mobile apps, instant transfers, and global access to multi-currency accounts, managing finances across borders has never been more convenient. Compare that to Baby Boomers, who had to go into physical bank branches, fill out endless forms, and wait days—if not weeks—for international transfers. While younger generations often voice concerns about rising property prices and economic challenges, the opportunities and ease they enjoy today are far greater than what Boomers had at their disposal.
The Convenience Gap: Boomers vs. Gen Z
For Baby Boomers, banking meant physically going to the branch. Whether it was depositing a check or sending money, every task required face-to-face interaction with a teller. If you wanted to send money internationally, the process was often painstaking, involving wire transfers, high fees, and long waiting periods for the transaction to clear.
Fast forward to today, where Gen Z can complete the same tasks in seconds, all from the convenience of their smartphones. Apps like PayPal, Venmo, CashApp, and Wise (formerly TransferWise) make it easy to transfer money domestically or internationally, without stepping foot into a bank. Transactions that took Boomers days now take mere minutes. For many younger people, they’ll never even have to go inside a bank.
International Transfers: Swift, Cheap, and Transparent
One of the greatest advancements in financial technology is how easy it has become to send money internationally. For Baby Boomers, sending money to someone abroad was often an ordeal. They had to rely on wire transfers or expensive services like Western Union, where tracking the funds was almost impossible, and fees were exorbitant.
Today, Gen Z can send money across borders with minimal effort and much lower fees. With services like Wise, Revolut, and Rutland FX, users can send money abroad in real time, tracking the transfer every step of the way. These platforms also offer options for speed, meaning you can choose between a low-cost transfer that takes a day or an instant transfer that costs slightly more. What used to be a high-stress situation is now a routine, everyday task that happens in just a few clicks.
Multi-Currency Accounts: Global Access at Your Fingertips
In the past, managing foreign currencies meant opening different accounts in different countries, navigating complex exchange rates, and paying high conversion fees. For Boomers, opening a foreign account was a huge endeavor. Now, multi-currency accounts are easy to set up, making it simpler for young people to live, work, and invest internationally.
Platforms like Revolut and Wise allow users to hold, spend, and transfer money in multiple currencies. This is a game-changer for people who frequently travel, study abroad, or work in foreign countries. With these accounts, you can avoid expensive currency conversions, and even make purchases directly in the local currency.
The Economy: Opportunity in a Changing Landscape
While Gen Z and Millennials often point to rising housing prices and economic challenges, it’s worth considering the vast range of opportunities they have that previous generations didn’t. While Baby Boomers may have had lower home prices, they didn’t have the same access to global markets, side gigs, or instant access to loans and crowdfunding that today’s generations enjoy.
Today, young people have access to online platforms where they can earn from anywhere in the world, often in currencies that weren’t easily accessible to Boomers. From remote work to investing in cryptocurrency, the financial landscape offers more ways to generate wealth, manage assets, and even purchase homes with new fintech innovations like fractional property ownership.
Conclusion
There’s no denying that today’s financial world is drastically different from what Baby Boomers experienced. For Gen Z and Millennials, sending money, managing multiple currencies, and even making international transfers are tasks they can complete in seconds, all from their phones. The convenience gap is real—Boomers had to navigate a much more cumbersome and costly financial system, while today’s generation benefits from technologies that make banking as simple as tapping a button.
Although today’s younger generations face challenges, they also have more financial tools, flexibility, and global opportunities than ever before. While some things have gotten tougher, when it comes to managing money, Gen Z and Millennials have it significantly easier than their predecessors.