U.S. credit card companies announced Thursday and Friday that they will waive or rebate the transaction fees on credit card donations to major U.S. humanitarian relief organizations involved in the relief efforts following last week’s devastating earthquake in Haiti.

Defaults on store-branded credit card accounts soared during the holiday shopping season, according to a report released Thursday by Fitch Ratings. Defaults rose to 12.56 percent in December, up from 11.36 percent the month before.

As the world rushes to help with the relief efforts of the devastating tragedy in Haiti, an unlikely party stands to profit from the outpouring of care and concern: credit card companies.

The Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday finalized the amendments to the Truth in Lending Act, which will lead to greater consumer protections for credit card usage.

U.S. consumer credit dropped $17.5 billion in November, a record drop which took economists by surprise. The largest drop was in revolving credit, largely a measure of credit card balances, which plummeted by 18.5 percent or $13.7 billion to $874 billion in November.