By way of comparison, the US bank that I work for (Capital One) offers checking accounts that have no monthly fees, no minimum balances, and even pay interest.

By way of comparison, the US bank that I work for (Capital One) offers checking accounts that have no monthly fees, no minimum balances, and even pay interest. HOWEVER, they will not offer them to all customers. Customers who have a sufficiently poor credit rating (we consider various factors) or other issues such as a history of writing bad checks or of engaging in bank fraud will be rejected for a normal checking account. The costs and risks of supporting such customers exceed the potential benefits. (NOTE: I am not privy to the details of the actual underwriting criteria, nor would I be authorized to disclose them if I DID know them. But if we reject someone for a banking product based on credit information we are required by law to let them know what information led to that decision.) [Edit:] Oh yes, and I forgot one of the more important reasons why you can't get one of our accounts. Because you are an "illegal alien" (anyone without a legitimate tax id). That constraint will also affect Walmart's new offering. Solving the problem of the "unbanked" in the US is much harder than you might think. But this new offering by Walmart will help.