Canada’s major credit card companies said today they will donate the revenue they make from tsunami relief contributions to a group of charities dealing with the crisis in southeast Asia.

MasterCard Canada and Visa Canada both said they will donate all revenues it receives from tsunami relief contributions made by Canadians with their MasterCard cards to nine designated charities.

The nine organizations are: the Canadian Red Cross; CARE Canada; Development and Peace; Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders; Oxfam Canada; Oxfam Quebec; Save the Children; UNICEF Canada; and World Vision Canada.

“Canadians have responded with enormous generosity to those in need in South and Southeast Asia,” said Kevin Stanton, president, MasterCard Canada, in a release. “We wanted to maximize the effect of that generosity to ensure those dollars go as far as possible.”

To encourage consumers to donate as early as possible and to take advantage of Government of Canada matching, the programs will cover donations made using a Canadian MasterCard or Visa card until January 31.

Visa Canada said it will make donations to tsunami relief organizations equivalent to the processing fees incurred by the charitable organizations on Canadian donations from Dec. 26, 2004 to January 31. It is also donating $75,000 to the Canadian Red Cross relief fund and has promised to match donations made by its employees.

“A human tragedy of this scale demands a personal and an organizational response,” Derek Fry, president of Visa Canada, said in a release.