"Basic bank accounts" were a game changer. They're what the US calls "checking accounts" (minus the checks) with them you get a debit card, the ability to pay in, take out, and transfer money; however absolutely zero ability to go overdrawn (no loan, no line of credit, etc).
But everyone could get one, even those who declared bankruptcy, since it was decided that it was not-viable in the 2000s for someone, anyone, to not own or have the ability to own a bank account. Which is right.
Banks make money via the spread between the general interest rate and the lower interest rate offered by the account, in addition to sales opportunities (e.g. offering to upgrade to a full account, savings accounts, small loans, etc).
However in general in the US banks are under-regulated and antiquated. Banking in the US Vs. UK feels like going back in time twenty years, everything is slow, complex, expensive, they charge for a basic checking/current account(!), you still have to physically go to a branch [ever!], transferring money between two banks is annoying, checks still exist, their anti-fraud is pathetic, and they're only getting C&P right now.
PS - Although I am at Wells Fargo so maybe my opinion about US banks is really more Wells Fargo biased than general banking. Maybe there are better US banks, but I don't know who they are.