Some have no choice, and some prefer not to deal with banks. Either way, life without a bank account can be challenging.
Candice Choi, a reporter for The Associated Press, decided to see what it's like. She spent one month with the "unbanked" - paying with cash, taking a paper paycheck, and using alternatives to debit and credit cards.
Banks aren't perfect; there are always fees and customer service issues. But try living without one. Choi's experiment suggests that she'd pay about $1,100 per year to make and receive payments without a bank in her life, not to mention the time it takes to do everything the old fashioned way. See her report for all the details: Living without a bank: Fees and confusion galore.