Updated: Monday, March 1, 2010
Making the case for disaster relief cards
he 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on Jan. 12, 2010, has brought untold death and destruction to the island nation. According to J.P. Morgan, the treasury arm of JPMorgan Chase & Co., disaster relief cards for the Haitian people would be of no use at the present time, but may play a role sometime in the future.
"Ground usage in Haiti of any card-based products, disaster or otherwise, isn't imminent," said Chris Paton, Managing Director of J.P. Morgan's Public Sector Benefit Payments Business. "Card programs require strong, stable telecommunications networks, which we suspect are not in place right now.