Visa response Re: requests for no fees on Haitian Relief donations

[Magpie]

Visa has sent a post indicating what their response has been to the Haitian earthquake. Looks like they are really stepping up to the plate.

Subject: Response to Haitian Earthquake

January 22, 2010

We are all aware of the terrible tragedy that has occurred in Haiti as a result of a massive earthquake on January 12. Visa Inc. extends its deepest sympathies to all who have been impacted by this disaster. Like many of you and a vast array of companies, Visa Inc. was called upon by charities, U.S. policymakers and others to take immediate action to aid relief efforts in Haiti. You may have read in the news about our response on behalf of the company, our clients and the industry at large. We are communicating today to provide you with more detail on those decisions.

Background

As you might imagine, as news reports of the earthquake drove awareness of the magnitude of the disaster, we – like many of you – received a flurry of calls to action from a number of constituencies, including U.S. policymakers and several global charities. Specifically, Visa and the other payment networks were called upon to waive any fees and interchange related to charitable donations focused on Haiti relief. After careful internal discussion and soliciting input from some of our clients and members of our board on our approach, Visa took a number of actions on our collective behalf to address the situation.

Visa Actions

First, to help meet immediate humanitarian needs, Visa has made a $200,000 donation to the Haiti Relief and Development Fund of the Red Cross, and through the end of the month will provide a 200% match of employee personal donations to our designated Haiti Disaster Relief partners. As of today, our employees have donated approximately $75,000 and therefore Visa will donate approximately another $150,000 or more to the relief effort.

Second, Visa will donate all Visa revenues generated by charitable contributions made with Visa cards attributable to the crisis in Haiti, directly to the American Red Cross. Further, Visa on behalf of all our clients, agreed to waive interchange fees through the end of February on domestic donations made to a select group of 19 major charities operating in the U.S. and/or Canada who are providing support to Haitian relief efforts. They include the American Red Cross, AmeriCares, Canadian Red Cross, CARE USA, CARE CANADA, Direct Relief International, Doctors Without Borders, Habitat for Humanity, International Rescue Committee, Mercy Corps, Oxfam America, Oxfam Canada, Oxfam Quebec, Save the Children, Save the Children Canada, US Fund for UNICEF, UNICEF Canada, William J. Clinton Foundation, and World Vision.

To determine this list of charities amongst the hundreds soliciting donations to support those impacted in Haiti, Visa established a set of criteria for qualifying charities along the following lines:

* We selected from the pre-qualified lists posted on the Web sites of the U.S. State Department and USAID.

* We then compared those with a list of the largest U.S. charities on the basis of past performance, magnitude of their Haiti relief efforts and widespread donor recognition.

* We also reviewed the ratings of each organization as provided by the Charity Navigator service.

* Finally, Visa included some organizations that we know to be credible based on our longstanding partnerships.

We continue to receive requests from other charities to waive fees on their behalf. Our intent is to limit the waiver of interchange to the organizations listed above. However, this is a dynamic situation and we may have to evaluate other situations or requests.

Looking Ahead

Recognizing that natural disasters will always be with us, Visa is considering a longer term approach to help us better manage its response and any actions we take on behalf of our clients, as well as the expectations of our stakeholders.

Thank you for your support in responding to these vital humanitarian efforts.

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[JanS]

*like*

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[JoB]

I am glad they are stepping up to the plate..

but I would like it better if the fees went to the charitable organization of my choice.. not theirs.

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[Author]

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