You're basically suggesting that underbanked or unbanked people shouldn't be able to shop somewhere just because they're not likely to. The bigger problem is t

You're basically suggesting that underbanked or unbanked people shouldn't be able to shop somewhere just because they're not likely to. The bigger problem is that this may lead to a trend of haves and have nots, and if you have a fee heavy banking system that can choose to "fire" a customer, then you've got a serious issue where people can potentially be excluded from modern life _against their choice_. There are three reasonable fixes for this that are bandied about - Require industry to offer no-fee and no-overdraft checking accounts to low income residents. This is onerous for a lot of reasons, a main one being that it would force a lot of institutions to take on break-even customers. It would possibly manifest in the form of a single low-cost bank that the industry funds just for compliance. - Simple federal consumer banking services (in many countries, done through the post office). This would look like a simple checking account and debit card, with very few amenities or services. Many countries have had something like this, and although a lot of them have privatized since, they have strict regulations that view these services as a public good. - Require all businesses to take cash. I think this is the worst option, but that's a matter of opinion I suppose.