Banks suspend interchange fee for Haiti donations

A California businessman has led a successful fight to prevent credit card companies from profiting on donations made to Haitian earthquake disaster relief.

Mitch Goldstone, owner of ScanMyPhotos.com, is among the U.S. business owners who have fought transaction fees collected by credit card companies.

He aimed to let potential donors know that credit card companies and the card issuing banks take 3 percent of charitable donations made via credit card. The companies and banks say the fees are a necessary cost of providing a secure and reliable network.

But last week, VISA, MasterCard and American Express said they would stop charging the fees for Haiti donations and reimburse agencies who had been charged.

"It made my blood boil because I knew the credit card companies got away with charging the fees during the Katrina relief effort," Goldstone said, adding that most consumers aren't aware of transaction fees.

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