Man, banks will charge you for breathing near your account at this point. Monthly fees, “service” fees, “just‑because” fees — it’s wild. Half the time I feel like I’m paying rent just to keep my own money somewhere.

From a business‑model perspective, fees are a predictable revenue stream. Traditional banks rely on them because they’re low‑risk and recurring. Overdraft fees, maintenance fees, wire fees — these are engineered to monetize customer behavior, not just services. Fintechs disrupted this by removing most consumer fees and shifting to interchange and partnerships. But legacy banks still depend heavily on fee income because it stabilizes earnings during low‑rate environments.