Small Business Interest Checking Act of 2001

The Small Business Interest Checking Act of 2001 (S. 524) was a legislative proposal designed to allow small businesses to earn interest on their checking accounts, a practice that had been prohibited by federal law since the 1930s. The bill would have permitted banks to offer interest-bearing checking accounts to businesses and increased the number of monthly transfers allowed between a customer's different accounts at the same bank. Additionally, it sought to authorize the Federal Reserve to pay interest to banks on the cash reserves they are required to hold.

For the average citizen and small business owner, this bill aimed to provide a new way to grow their business savings and manage their finances more flexibly. While this specific bill did not become law during the 107th Congress, its primary goal—repealing the ban on interest-bearing business checking accounts—was eventually achieved years later through the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.