> Free checking wasn’t free. Instead of most depositors paying a predictable (and relatively small) fee for their checking account, a tiny portion of the deposi

> Free checking wasn’t free. Instead of most depositors paying a predictable (and relatively small) fee for their checking account, a tiny portion of the depositor base was assessed many, many $25-$35 fees stochastically based on how frequently their incomings and outgoings were temporarily mismatched This is a really great point which had never occurred to me. Free current accounts (as we call them in the UK) are the norm. We had - or still have? (I haven't kept up) obscene overdraft charges too. If my memory serves me right, people paying £10-40/mo in overdraft charges wasn't uncommon. I feel our situation is/was even worse because free accounts were the norm. When paid accounts did get introduced, but they came bundled with things like extra interest, insurance etc, so you kind of broke even (not so much now).