[astura]

I know a few "unbanked" people.

Some know don't have a bank account because they simply don't trust banks. They want to have access to 100% of their money 100% of the time.

Some don't have a bank account because they don't have income (adult dependents)

One didn't have a bank account because she was a minor and there was no adult around willing or able to open one for her to use.

When I was a kid I knew of a few adults who had bank accounts closed on them for check kiting, including my parents - I know of this because I overheard people talking about it quite a lot. I don't know what ended up happening after that, if they were able to open a new account or what. I know you probably wouldn't be able to open a new account nowadays with Chexsystem and the like. Of course, check kiting also isn't a thing anymore either.

[zxcvbn4038]

I don’t blame them, places like Citibank and Chase exist to dip into your account as frequently as possible. Do you think it really costs $45 to handle a bounced check? It’s a completely automated process, costs them a fraction of a cent if you agreed to electronic documents, the rest is pure gravy.

However if your in the US and having trouble with the banks I’d recommend looking for “millennial” banking which is usually zero fee, but you can’t write paper checks and they are remote only.

My wife was paying almost a thousand a month in fees at a regular bank, after I moved her to one of the millennial banks she really prospered. She can’t overdraw the account anymore - and it’s not really an issue since the bank is no longer taking half her paycheck.