Payments Giants Donate Giant Payments To Hurricane Sandy Relief

Hurricane Sandy caused an estimated $30-50 billion in damages, ravaging the East Coast and killing at least 85 in the U.S.

No company has the power erase the wounds Sandy inflicted, but many payments titans are doing their best to help heal those affected. From Oct. 30-Nov. 2 alone, major payments companies donated $12.5 million to hurricane relief efforts. Who were the biggest donors, and how did their offerings compare to their Q3 profits? We take a look in this PYMNTS.com Data Point.

The Million-Dollar Club

From Oct. 30 – Nov. 2, six financial titans made $1 million donations to Sandy relief efforts. Bank of America, HSBC and Wells Fargo pitched in on October 30, and turned in profits of $340 million, 2.5 billion and 4.9 billion, respectively. The following day, Capital One, Citi and Western Union contributed as well after respective Q3 profits of $1.2 billion, $468 million and $720 million.

More Payments Donations, Big(ger) And Small(er)

TD Banknorth contributed “just” $500,000, but that’s quite generous given their $1.8 million profit in Q3. Western Union and the Western Union foundation donated $75,00 on Oct. 31 and then another $400,000 on Nov. 2, finishing just short of half of a million dollars compared to $270 million in profit. RBS Citizens pitched in $150,000, or one-hundredth of their previous quarter’s profits. And JP Morgan Chase took the cake, offering up a stunning $5 million compared to $5.7 billion in Q3 profits.  

Fees Forgiven, For A While At Least

Many companies chose to wave fees in the aftermath of the storm. From Oct. 30 – Nov. 7, payments companies offers temporary forgiveness for overdraft fees, returned checks, late fees for credit card, mortgage, auto, student, businesses and consumers, and more. The fee waivers applied to Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Washington D.C. and more.

Bank Branches See Major Impact

Many of the banks that offered fee forgiveness had thousands of branches impacted by the Storm. The number of branches impacted for Bank of America rings in at 1,700, while Chase didn’t fare much better with 1,075. Citibank saw 400 locations see their normal operations affected, while Wells Fargo suffered in a whopping 9,000 locations. A thousand Wells Fargo banking centers were closed the day after the storm.

To see more stats about Hurricane Sandy relief effort donations, read the infographics below. 

Study - Bank Donations for Storm Relief Compared to Recent Profits
Hurricane Sandy’s Path: Damages and Bank Donations by Credit-Land.com