Donations Urged as Credit Card Companies Continue to Waive Transaction Fees

Days after a devastating earthquake hit the Caribbean nation of Haiti, calls for relief and aid continue as the impact of the disaster left most people homeless and without food. Because of this, four major credit card companies announced that it would continue to waive or rebate processing fees on donations.

However, potential donors must first look if the selected charity organization is in the company’s list of accredited U.S. charities that are supporting relief efforts in Haiti.

According to American Express, it would continue to waive and rebate processing fees up to the last day of February. It has selected at least 65 charities approved by the USAID.

Corporate spokesperson, Christine Elliot, stated that the list designated by USAID had been chosen by their company. They believe that the federal government’s arm for administering civilian foreign aid had been diligent in identifying reputable charity organizations. Doctors Without Borders, though not part of the list of USAID, had also been included by American Express.

Visa Inc., on the other hand, would also waive fees until the end of February. It released a list of 11 major charity organizations in the US which provides relief efforts. Among these are the American Red Cross, Save the Children, Direct Relief International, Habitat for Humanity, AmeriCares, Oxfam America, CARE USA, Mercy Corps, World Vision, and US Fund for UNICEF.

Discover, which is estimated to have more than 50 million card members, would continue to forgo its fees also until the end of next month. They have only selected the American Red Cross as its charity organization. It must be noted that this is the first time that this credit card company would waive its fees on such relief efforts. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, a matching program through its card holders raised millions of dollars for donations.

MasterCard Worldwide, as with the rest, would be waiving transactions fees on donations given through five charities up until next month.

It is reported that if credit card companies would not waive transactions costs, at least 3% of donations would go into their pockets. Only 97% of the total amount donated would actually be received by the chosen relief organization.

As of date, more than 9,000 bodies had been collected from the ruins of the earthquake and it is still expected to rise as more victims are still being uncovered. It is also estimated that at least 3 million Haitians are in need of food, water and shelter. Most have been camping on the streets for fear of aftershocks.