A new Zelle survey finds rising costs are reshaping dating habits, payment expectations and financial compatibility among younger adults.
NEW YORK CITY, NY — More than half of Gen Z daters surveyed by Zelle said they have ghosted, blocked or unfollowed someone at least once to avoid paying them back after a date, highlighting how money pressures are complicating romance for younger Americans.
The finding is part of Zelle’s New Economics of Dating Report, released Sept. 22. The survey covered 1,800 Gen Z and millennial adults who had dated within the past year. Zelle said the research was conducted online in August by Accelerant Research in partnership with Early Warning Services, the company that operates the payment network.
The survey found that 43% of Gen Z and millennial respondents overall said they had ghosted, blocked or unfollowed someone to avoid repayment after a date. The figure climbed to 52% among Gen Z respondents. At the same time, person-to-person payment services have become a routine part of dating: 57% of respondents said they had used such a platform to settle expenses during or after a date, rising to 64% among Gen Z.
The repayment problem comes as young adults report broader pressure from the cost of dating. Zelle said 84% of Gen Z and millennial daters surveyed reported that rising costs had affected their dating lives. Nearly one-third said they were going on fewer dates, while 11% said they had stopped dating because they could not afford it. Forty percent reported choosing less expensive activities, and 37% said they had suggested free activities.
For some respondents, dating expenses were linked to debt or financial help from other people. Seventeen percent of Gen Z and millennial respondents said they had gone into debt to maintain a lifestyle with someone they were dating, according to Zelle. Among Gen Z respondents, the share was 20%. USA Today reported that 19% of Gen Z respondents said they had asked family or friends for money to take someone on a date.
The findings also point to uncertainty over who should pay. According to USA Today’s reporting on the survey, 28% of participants said the person who initiates a first date should pay, while 21% said payment depends on the circumstances. Half of respondents either waited until the check arrived to discuss payment or waited for the other person to raise the issue.
That uncertainty can continue after the date ends. About 28% of Gen Z respondents said they had reimbursed a date without being asked because they did not want to feel indebted, USA Today reported. Another 24% said they had avoided asking a date for payment because doing so felt awkward, while 25% said they had felt resentful about paying but did not say anything.
Money is also becoming a larger factor in deciding whether a relationship should continue. Half of the Gen Z and millennial daters surveyed said financial compatibility had mattered more than romantic chemistry at some point when deciding whether to keep seeing someone. The figure was 53% among Gen Z respondents. Nearly one-quarter of respondents said they had decided not to pursue someone because they were not financially compatible.
At the same time, the survey suggests that expensive dates do not necessarily make the strongest impression. Thirty-eight percent of respondents said they viewed someone positively for arranging an affordable and thoughtful date, compared with 23% who said the same about an extravagant, high-end date. More than half identified being thoughtful with money, being transparent about finances and planning a budget-friendly date as positive traits.
The report offers a snapshot of how younger daters say they are handling money rather than a measure of how every Gen Z or millennial adult behaves. Zelle said participants were compensated for completing the 10-minute online survey. The company defined dating broadly enough to include both people getting to know potential romantic partners and established couples spending intentional time together on dates.
With rising costs influencing where people go, how often they date and whether they continue relationships, the survey suggests that the check has become more than an end-of-date formality. For some younger adults, questions about paying, splitting expenses and settling up afterward are increasingly part of deciding whether a relationship continues at all.
Author note: Last updated September 26, 2026.