They should look at the UK instead.<p>"Basic bank accounts" were a game changer. They're what the US calls "checking accounts" (minus the checks) with them you get a debit card, the ability to pay in, take out, and transfer money; however absolutely zero ability to go overdrawn (no loan, no line of credit, etc).<p>But everyone could get one, even those who declared bankruptcy, since it was decided that it was not-viable in the 2000s for someone, anyone, to not own or have the ability to own a bank account. Which is right.<p>Banks make money via the spread between the general interest rate and the lower interest rate offered by the account, in addition to sales opportunities (e.g. offering to upgrade to a full account, savings accounts, small loans, etc).<p>However in general in the US banks are under-regulated and antiquated. Banking in the US Vs. UK feels like going back in time twenty years, everything is slow, complex, expensive, they charge for a basic checking/current account(!), you still have to physically go to a branch [ever!], transferring money between two banks is annoying, checks still exist, their anti-fraud is pathetic, and they're only getting C&P right now.<p>PS - Although I am at Wells Fargo so maybe my opinion about US banks is really more Wells Fargo biased than general banking. Maybe there are better US banks, but I don't know who they are.