January 15, 2010
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News: CC Companies Waive Fees For Haiti Relief
An earthquake on Tuesday left Haiti in massive ruin. Efforts have begun across the globe to assist the county in recovery of the worst earthquake to hit the country in over 200 years. It is estimated casualties will reach over 200,000. As Americans reach into their pockets to support recovery efforts, credit card companies want to do their share. Some major lenders have announced they will waive the fees associated with credit card donations as an incentive to Americans who would like to contribute to relief efforts. American Express (AmEx), Visa, MasterCard and Discover will all be participating in the program that will waive the interchange fees, transaction fees, and other fees accompanying the credit card transaction of any donation to Haiti relief. The fees range from one percent to three percent.
The action was spurred by a recent report in the Huffington Post that revealed that credit card companies earn more than $250 million off of charitable contributions. In response, Chris McWilton, President of MasterCard Worldwide U.S. Market, stated that while Americans are "opening their hearts" in support of Haiti relief, MasterCard wants to guarantee that "their contributions go as far as possible." In all fairness credit should be given to Representative Betsy Markey, (D-Fort Collins) from Colorado reached out to the credit card companies asking for their help by waiving associated fees as their contribution in support of Haiti relief.
According to the Huffington Post report, credit card companies have only waived fees from charitable contributions only once before; in 2004 after the Tsunami crisis. Lenders earn over $45 billion a year on card transaction fees. Americans will need to check with their own lender for more details. Visa says they will waive fees through February for contributions to Haiti relief and a select group of other charities. MasterCard will be waiving interchange fees on U.S. issued card donations to the American Red Cross, AmeriCares, Unicef, Save the Children, and Care U.S.A. American Express will be rebate transaction fees for contributions made to a select group of charitable organizations supporting Haiti relief. The list can be accessed at the U.S. Agency for International Development website at www.usaid.gov/.