The potential charges, says Marianne Lake, CEO of consumer and community banking at JPMorgan, are a result of new regulatory rules that cap overdraft and late fees. Lake says Chase will be passing along those increased expenses to customers, which would put an end to now-free services such as checking accounts and wealth management tools. And she says she expects other banks will follow suit.
Why? I changed my bank like decades ago and have a free account ever since.
IIRC a 'real' credit card would cost a fee, and unlimited cash withdrawal too, but I think that's it. I don't use either.
I have accounts at two different banks but I don't have any credit cards. Debit cards are way more widely used in Europe. Every bank in the Netherlands will charge you a fee for opening an account.
$15 a month for a bank account is less than 1 hour's work at Canada's minimum wage. That's more than two hours' worth of work at US minimum wage.
Not ridiculously expensive all things considered, but still worth noting how much a poor person would have to work just to maintain a bank account at that rate in the U.S.