[jyl]

Interest rates are so low, and bank profit optimization so advanced, that completely free checking is a thing of the past or soon will be.

About 10 MM adults in the U.S. lack a bank account. This is a problem for the lowest income, also recent immigrants and illegal immigrants. Hence the increase in stored value cards.

We have been gradually switching over to a small local credit union, from a too-big-to-fail national bank. The wife's idea; I'm personally fine with continuing to bank with XYZ where I've had my accounts for 25-odd years. It is occasionally inconvenient having a CA account while living in OR, but oh well.