Banks... banks absolutely rely on consumer fear or ignorance of bureaucracy & financials to generate their revenue via fees, charges and other such trifling, consumer hostile methods. There is a definite "get them in, then fleece" mentality to it. Gyms, especially cheap ones, have a business model built on the assumption that many/most members will eventually stop working out, but continue to pay fees.
Like… I just want to exchange some amount money for goods and services without having to constantly arse around trying to figure out how much I'm being swindled. I'd easily fork over more money for services from a brand that I could generally expect isn't trying to take me for a ride with every interaction.
In some states you can’t even use a different credit card without destroying the contract - if you change the number or it gets reissued with a new expiration date then tough cookies to you. I figured out this trick early on so I have a credit card that is only used for car rentals to minimize the chance I’d ever need to replace it.
Luckily I’m not flying these days due to Covid and currently live in a state where rental car companies are required by law to accept cash regardless of how the registration was booked, so they tone down the credit card specificity because they prefer you use a card.
Basically disrupt the abuse of the un-buisness-savy, by providing them a with automated buisness-savyness?
Here people will usually pre-pay a certain # of entries or a certain time period, often with cash, and no one asks for any details except name. Hard-to-cancel recurring membership isn't a thing.
We do not have many gym chains, though.
That said, they exist because it works. There's no way FB could make the money it makes by selling its product to consumers, but it can by snooping, manipulating and advertising. Banking goes in cycles and modes, but it's one ugly after another usually. Maybe they make steady, risk free profits while externalizing long tail risks. Maybe they enjoy a low competition regulated market that lets them fleece captive customers. Etc.
The oldest law codes we have show evidence of bankers being bold, usury and whatnot.
In a lot of the big, egregious examples (FB, Citibank, etc.)... killing the abuse would be turning a $1trn industry into a $1bn industry. It's certainly possible to do social media or consumer banking in a much smaller/cheaper way.