Free banking

No charges

No "convenience fees"

Free online banking, setup automated payments, one offs, transfer money to other banks in the UK instantly, etc

I assume you're talking about the US?

All of the above with no charges, although they may have a requirement to have direct deposit set up.

In the UK using cheques for anything is the rare exception. The plan is to phase them out within a few years, but already hardly anyone uses them any more.

It's the exception for banks, but credit unions are generally good to their customers. The few dealings I've had with BofA for example left me wondering why anyone would ever deal with them. At my credit union the people are friendly and when I used to go to a branch they actually knew me.

I pay everything by CC, but she writes a lot of checks. She's not what I would call a luddite, she just doesn't trust other people with her money.

I'd simply go insane if I had to remember to pay bills.

Why not, say, just log into your online banking and arrange an electronic transfer to the landlord's account on a set day of each month?

I think this was parent poster's point - that in some countries (even those less advanced than America in other ways) the banking system allows much greater convenience. Most people in Western Europe have the option of paying their rent electronically without writing a cheque and without incurring extra fees.