Bank of Mum and Dad goes digital as almost one in four Gen Z adults regularly receive family money to cover their costs

27% of Gen Z spent more than expected when they first moved out

As Freshers’ Week begins, findings highlight the challenge of balancing financial independence with the costs of a new social life

LONDON, 25 September 2026 — Almost one in four Gen Z adults (23%) regularly receive money from a family member to help cover their costs, compared with 11% of Millennials, according to research by ZYMIX, the UK’s Social SuperApp.

The findings come as Freshers’ Week brings the practical costs of independence into focus for students across the UK. This year, 446,690 applicants had secured undergraduate places by Results Day, including a record 262,820 UK 18-year-olds. For those moving away from home, the transition means learning to manage rent, bills, food and transport while building friendships in an unfamiliar city.

Society memberships, events and shared meals are part of settling into university life, but those expenses can quickly add up before students have established a realistic weekly budget. The wider Gen Z findings reflect that adjustment: 27% said they spent more than expected when they first moved out, while 18% felt pressure to keep pace with their peers’ spending.

Alongside these pressures, the research highlights how digital payments have become part of family financial life, with 22% of Gen Z already sending or receiving family money through an app. As young adults take on greater responsibility for their spending, the findings suggest that support from home remains an important part of the transition to independence.

Key findings

- 23% of Gen Z regularly receive family support to help cover their costs, compared with 11% of Millennials.
- 22% of Gen Z send or receive family money through an app, compared with 16% of Millennials, 11% of Gen X and 10% of Boomers.
- 27% of Gen Z spent more than expected when they first moved out, matching Millennials, compared with 22% of Gen X and 11% of Boomers.
- 18% have felt awkward or embarrassed asking a family member to repay them, compared with 16% of Millennials.
- 18% felt pressure to match their peers’ spending when they first moved out, compared with 21% of Millennials, 9% of Gen X and 3% of Boomers.
- 31% chose spending management as an attractive financial feature in a combined app, ahead of Millennials at 24%, Gen X at 16% and Boomers at 6%.
- 20% chose bill splitting with friends as an attractive feature of a combined app, level with Millennials.

Nikita Sun, Chief Strategy and Corporate Affairs Officer at ZYMIX, said: “For many young adults, financial independence still involves regular support from family. At university, the challenge is to balance essential costs with the social experiences that help people settle in and build friendships, often before they know what their weekly budget needs to cover.

“Money also moves between people throughout those experiences. Someone buys the tickets, someone pays for a taxi and someone else covers dinner, leaving the group to settle up across separate conversations and payment services. We built ZYMIX to bring those activities together, making shared expenses easier to manage within the conversations and plans that create them.”

Managing money alongside a social life

When asked which financial features would be most attractive within a SuperApp, 31% of Gen Z chose the ability to track and manage their spending, compared with 24% of Millennials, 16% of Gen X and 6% of Boomers. Splitting bills with friends was also a priority, selected by 20% of both Gen Z and Millennials.

The findings suggest that young adults want digital tools to help them navigate both personal budgets and the shared costs of social life. For students finding their feet at university, those needs often overlap: deciding whether to attend an event, sharing the cost of a meal or keeping track of what friends owe each other are all part of balancing new experiences with what they can afford.

Nikita Sun added: “Moving to university means finding your feet socially as well as financially, particularly when you are arriving in a new city or country. Joining a society, going to an event or sharing a meal can be the beginning of a friendship, so the conversation needs to go beyond simply telling students to spend less.

“What matters is helping young people feel more in control of those decisions, from understanding what they can afford to managing shared costs without awkwardness. At ZYMIX, we see that as part of a broader question about how technology can make everyday life easier and give people more time for the relationships and experiences that matter to them.”

The research was conducted by Opinium and commissioned by ZYMIX ahead of its UK launch in September 2026. Designed for Gen Z adults and students aged 18 and over, ZYMIX is a Social SuperApp that brings messaging, communities, events, content, discovery and payments together in one connected platform.

Payments form a core part of that experience. At launch, ZYMIX Wallet will enable users to top up by card, transfer money to friends, send cash gifts and split shared expenses, including by uploading an image of a bill or receipt. By connecting these functions with messaging and event discovery, ZYMIX aims to simplify the practical tasks surrounding social plans, from arranging an outing to settling its shared costs.

About ZYMIX

ZYMIX is the UK's first all-in-one social SuperApp, built for Gen Z. ZYMIX combines messaging, events, short video, communities and payments into one app — everything Gen Z actually does online, in one place. ZYMIX launches across UK universities in Autumn 2026. Join ZYMIX on the App Store or Google Play.

Media enquiries: press@zymix.ai

Methodology

All data, unless otherwise stated, is from Opinium Research. Research was conducted on behalf of ZYMIX. An online survey was conducted of 2,000 UK adults (18+). Fieldwork was carried out between 11th - 15th September 2026. Results have been weighted to be nationally representative of all UK adults.