Banking news roundup

Citizens Financial Group unveiled a low-free, no-overdraft-fee checking account. Making good on a promise last fall to offer an affordable checking account for low-income consumers, the Providence, Rhode Island-based company this week launched Citizens EverValue Checking, which costs $5 a month and has been certified by the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund as meeting Bank On national account standards. In addition to zero overdraft fees, the account is free of nonsufficient-funds fees. The $188.4 billion-asset Citizens also announced it will soon allow customers to receive their direct deposits up to two days early. That feature is set to roll out during the second quarter, it said. — Allissa Kline

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is pushing the U.S. to create a central bank digital currency, saying "it's time to move in that direction" in an interview with NBC's Chuck Todd on Thursday evening. Warren in the past has said a CBDC could improve access to the financial system while reducing the risk of private digital currencies such as crypto. The U.S. is among dozens of countries that are considering a CBDC, though it has not yet formally launched a program. One of the issues to be determined is the role of banks in a CBDC, with Republicans preferring a greater role for banks in managing CBDC disbursements. — John Adams 

Nonfungible tokens, which are digital representations of art or other content, are still an emerging innovation for payment companies. But there is an opportunity to process payments for NFT sales and use the images for incentive marketing, drawing attention from the card networks. Visa this week launched a Creator Program for digital artists, musicians, fashion designers and filmmakers to build their businesses through NFTs. Each cycle of the program will support a group of developers that want to understand the technology that supports NFT commerce. The card network said NFTs can potentially be an accelerator for the "creator" economy. — John Adams