In a rare move, the major credit card companies Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover have decided to waive interchange fees on donations made for the tragedy in Haiti. Happening only once before for tsunami relief in 2004, the revoking of interchange fees shows how card companies succumbed to public scrutiny over highlighted fees in light of the tragedy.

The Huffington Post reported that some non-profit disaster relief organizations collect up to 85% of their donations by credit card which translates to over $250 million dollars that credit card companies pocket from non-profit organizations. Many of these profits are pocketed directly after a huge disaster–like the earthquake in Haiti.

According to the New York Times, the companies will do as follows:

1) Visa- No interchange fees through February to donations made to major charities providing relief in Haiti. The list is still being compiled. Visa will also donate revenue generated by charitable donations through next month.

2) MasterCard- No interchange fees on donations made using US-issued MasterCards to the American Red Cross, AmeriCares, Unicef, Save the Children, and CARE USA.

3) American Express- Rebating transaction fees for donations made on the card directly to nonprofits listed on the Agency for International Development’s Web site.

4) Discover- Waiving some fees, but have not offered the public details.

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