Debit cards

While major card issuers such as Chase and Wells Fargo roll out NFC-enabled credit and debit cards incrementally, Bank of America is taking a much more aggressive approach.

Banks and governments around the world have invested in systems that seek to instantly transfer money between accounts, moves that could put pressure on the sprawling debit card business at the world’s largest payments network. But Visa Inc. Chief Executive Al Kelly isn’t too worried.

Wells Fargo & Co. said it expects to refund certain fees paid on debit-card accounts as it reviews disclosures that may have confused customers.

The use of digital payments offers significant savings over check cashing. Payroll cards and public-sector prepaid cards issued for the deposit of government benefits are two of the best known examples, writes Andrew Gillen, vice president for Global Public Sector Payment Solutions for Mastercard.

There are many motivations for implementing faster payments, such as paying gig economy workers after each job, sending funds overseas, or improving insurance payouts. In all of these examples, the demand comes from the payments recipient.

As major payments M&A deals mount, some free agents are awaiting deals of their own — and one area where that’s most apparent is in debit and ATM networks.

Bento for Business has added Visa to its purchasing card platform for small and midsize businesses.

As the faster-payments movement gradually increases the speed of transfers, the use cases for immediate debit push payments are becoming more specialized.

Wells Fargo & Co. has committed to converting all of its payment cards to contactless technology, beginning with credit cards and adding contactless debit cards this summer.

The Canadian bank recently caught flak over an ad in one of its branches that was seen as a slight against the diverse Boston community of Dorchester. Here’s what other bankers can take away from the episode.