...but why? Free checking/current accounts are par de course. You can use any cash machine/ATM you want. You can actually speak to a bank manager.

One of things things I miss in the US from the UK was a banking system that wasn't entirely set out to screw you. It wasn't your friend, but it didn't wish you as ill will as the national banks here.

As someone who has worked for a bank and has many contacts still at the 'front line' of UK retail banking, my experience is that the system is entirely set out to screw you, while simultaneously training its employees to believe the opposite.

So you have institutions staffed by people who honestly want to help you as much as they can, and a corporate regime that wants to fuck you as hard as it can.

I've no idea how that compares to American banks, but it's pretty screwed up.

Quick differentiator : Do UK banks charge you for a cheque book?

No, although cheques are (in the UK at least, I'm not sure about internationally) about to become a thing of the past.

Cheques/checks are more common in the US as there is no national system like Direct Debit. Bills can be paid by card, but sometimes you are penalized for that due to the processing fees.

The government always requires cash or check. I had to buy a check book just so I had the privilege of sending The Man more tax. They are also used (bizarrely) as a proof of your bank account number for various things. It's not uncommon for a company that is doing banking with you (like your payroll) to ask for an invalidated check so they can get your bank account number right.

I really hate checks.