Most traditional banks will charge you a monthly maintenance fee each month you do not receive a direct deposit into your checking account. Usually it is $10/month.So it is costly to maintain a checking account if you do not have regular direct deposits.

Some online banks do not charge fees. SoFi bank doesn't. They are currently running a promotion, $300 for opening a checking account subject to some conditions. I have not checked the conditions but suspect you will need to have direct deposits of at least a certain amount in the first few months after you open an account. So you may not qualify for it now.

You can open a checking account online by uploading copies of you driver's license.

SoFI bank: [url=https://www.sofi.com/]