The digital age continues to redefine conventional financial paradigms, and Generation Z is at the forefront, navigating and influencing the trajectory of financial technology (FinTech) applications through their distinct attitudes, behaviors, and expectations. Gen Z is the new archetype and the new behavioral model. The behavioral intention to use FinTech services among Gen Z, explained by the inclusion of factors and in this way being an extension of financial theory, is the hot topic as this is still the beginning of learning the: Facilitating Conditions Intention (FCI), Attitude (A), Behavioral Intention (BI) that define the choices made by Gen Z. In a broader perspective, it is important to point out the main trends among Gen Z toward FinTech services and the conclusions of current research on them. These aspects make it particularly relevant to study the use of FinTech services, which can be done very effectively with social science analysis through structural models. The research presented in this chapter is both descriptive and exploratory, as it presents a theoretical framework that builds on previous research and includes contemporary perspectives based on new research findings.

The accessibility of FinTech services is increasing, and their convenience is making them more popular than traditional banks, particularly among Generation Z. The objective of this research is to identify and compare the factors influencing the conscious use of FinTech services among Generation Z members, who are the most active participants in this field of financial technology. The questionnaire based purposive sample consisted of Generation Z students who demonstrated adequate financial literacy and utilized FinTech, and who were learning in a university environment in Hungary and Romania. A sample of 600 respondents was selected for analysis after cleaning the data online. The methodological approach entailed the utilization of covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM). The results indicate that social influence (β = 0.18), consumer attitude (β = 0.53) and facilitating conditions intention (β = 0.11) all have a significant effect on the behavior intention, explaining 49% of the variance. In the context of performance expectation, the effect of facilitating conditions intention is not significant (p = 0.491). The motivation of Generation Z towards fintech solutions is evident in their preference for speed and ease of use. However, in order to reinforce consumer expectations and transfer the necessary experience and attitudes, it may be beneficial for service providers to adopt a partially different strategy in different countries. Generation Z can thus serve as a crucial reference point for the even more discerning expectations of subsequent generations. The findings may inform the formulation of strategies for fintech service providers to better understand customer behavior.