Thanks for your note, which should provide some perspective.

There are US banks that do similar things. "Commercial banks" (which want wealthy business owners as their main customers) are more likely to do this.

However, most "retail" banks offer free or low-cost no-frills checking accounts to anyone with a regular paycheck that has their pay deposited electronically. This gives the bank insurance against overdrafts (because the first thing they'll do with your next paycheck is pay your fees and debts) and also reduces the staff they need to hire (because nobody needs to stand in line to give the paycheck to the teller).