A hosting company has said it will take immediate legal action against Visa and MasterCard over the credit card companies' refusal to process donations for whistle-blower site WikiLeaks.

DataCell, based in Iceland, facilitates donations to WikiLeaks. DataCell said it had been losing revenue since Visa and MasterCard decided to stop processing WikiLeaks' donations.

"DataCell...has decided to take up immediate legal actions to make donations possible again," DataCell CEO Andreas Fink said in a statement Wednesday. Fink told ZDNet UK that DataCell would pursue legal action as soon as possible: "Not being able to receive money from the public for a week can cost WikiLeaks seven-digit figures in losses, and DataCell as well, as it is unable to process any cards."

The suit, Fink said, will be filed in the United Kingdom against Visa Europe, with a request for an immediate injunction "to limit further damage." WikiLeaks donations can still be made via wire transfer, but MasterCard and Visa handle small donations, which make up the majority, according to Fink.

Read more of "Legal threat to Visa, MasterCard over WikiLeaks move" at ZDNet UK.