Wouldn't a more prudent course of action be to target legislation towards banks for their predatory practices? Mandating access to free accounts for those under a certain income level or other similar things for banks with physical or online presence within the state?
Having worked in retail banking for a few years, there's still people who slip through the cracks.
My branch was located right next to a county jail and a homeless shelter.
Accounts often close due to mismanagement, negative or zero funds. Do that enough and you won't be eligible to open an account.
People will get locked up and their accounts will be closed. Homeless people often have unsteady work and don't have much time to be running money through a bank.
We required a minimum to open an account. Often people needed that money to be able to eat and grab a bus. So many people also came in with those pay cards that charge all kinds of crazy fees.
Free accounts should be the case for everyone. You're right. If the banking sector is going to prop itself up as an essential part of the economy where pretty much all financial transactions have to run through them, then there should be some community expectations.
The amount of people I saw with nothing to their name was disheartening. I'd frequently talk to customers who had no idea their account closed months back. And to some of us, it can blow your mind that someone is unaware of the status of their bank account for so long. But it happens a lot.