There are indeed fees for a checking account at all physical banks I know of. Typically they waive the fee if you maintain over a certain balance so they can invest it while you're not using it and make a profit on it, which they then use to [more than] pay your fees and profit from. Many also have further restrictions e.g. Charging you a fee for checking accounts unless you have direct deposit set up from your employer into their checking account.

Here's a comparison of checking account fees for various banks: https://www.nerdwallet.com/checking-accounts?account_feature...