What Keeps People Tied To Their Large Banks?

This Reuters article reviews an issue that prevents many people from leaving their megabank:

Once you've arranged to have all of your bills sent to your bank and paid automatically by your bank, how likely are you to switch to a different institution?

The article recommended using sevices like Paytrust or MyCheckFree so you won't have to worry about being tied to one bank. However, I'm not sure if this would be any better than if you use an internet bank that you'll know will stay free like Ally Bank or ING Direct. But with future mergers, you never know which will stay free. But that could also be the case with these accounting services.

The article also mentioned my recommendation about credit unions about how the shared branch and ATM networks help credit unions compete with the large banks.