This chapter explores the origins of central banking, from the goldsmith bankers in the United Kingdom to the founding of the Bank of England in 1694, this chapter also outlines the evolution of its banking system from the Suffolk System, via the National Banking era; emphasize the federal funds rate, targeted by the Federal Open Market Committee, as well as the recent change to pay interest on reserve balances at the Federal Reserve, enacted by the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act from 2008