Last year, Adobe reported 58 of Nov.-to-Dec.’s 60 shopping days saw over $ 1billion in online U.S. sales. This year, the same source shows year-over-year growth across the board:

• $3.7 billion on Thanksgiving up 27.9%
• $6.2 billion on Black Friday up 23.6%
• $7.9 billion on Cyber Monday up 19.3%

However, many consumers who fall into the unbanked population typically have limitations to shop online. Among their primary means of currency continue to be store bought pre-paid cards which are essentially gift cards, which have limitations for online storefronts such as Amazon.com. This population is estimated to be comprised of roughly 15.6 million people.

New solutions such as ViViPAY offer a complete ecosystem of financial solutions for the unbanked and underbanked populations that open up new opportunities such as online shopping. Users can utilize their linked ViVi Mastercard or Visa, which can be used in millions of locations worldwide wherever Mastercard and Visa are accepted. They can also use a digital wallet, much like a bank account, to deposit checks, pay bills, transfer money, access health benefits, and even make donations directly from an app.