NEW YORK—The major credit card companies are finding themselves the target of public pressure related to recent, racially divisive events in Charlottesville, Va.
An organization called Color of Change, which describes itself as a racial justice organization, has launched the website Blood Money, to call out Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express for what it alleges is the processing of funds for “groups that have inspired hate crimes and organized events like the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville.”
In a released statement, Color Of Change said it has been “engaging these companies for months, demanding that they cut their ties with hate groups.”
But to date, these companies have declined to stop providing services for white supremacists like those responsible for the violence in Charlottesville, the organization said.
“Without the financial services provided by companies like Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express, the terrorism and violence we saw in Charlottesville would not have happened,” said Rashad Robinson, Executive Director of Color Of Change. “White supremacists need money to pay for events like ‘Unite the Right’ and to maintain propaganda websites likes the ones that inspired terrorists Dylann Roof and Timothy McVeigh. For months, we’ve been urging these companies to do the right thing and stop providing financial services for white supremacist groups. But, so far, they are making a conscious choice to let their products provide the financial fuel that makes white supremacist terrorism possible. They are making hundreds of thousands of dollars from processing fees for these racist groups and quite literally profiting off hate and murder.”
On the site, Color Of Changes lists more than 100 organizations it has identified as hate groups to which it says the processors provide financial services.
“These groups have raised tens of millions of dollars thanks to credit card donations facilitated by these processing companies,” Color Of Change said.
In its statement, Color Of Change said some payment processing companies have taken a few steps to sever ties with white supremacist groups, including PayPal.