Imagine you get up one day looking to pay your bills or just buy yourself some breakfast, but despite the fact that you have more than sufficient funds in your bank account, you somehow do not have access to your own damn money.

Bank of America, the second-largest U.S. bank by assets, decided this month that providing free checking accounts to lower-income customers was too much of a burden to bear and removed the option from its account offerings. Customers must now either maintain a daily balance of $1,500, have a direct deposit of $250 or…