Checking accounts are loss leaders for most banks, even with low interest rates. And big brokerages have offered this type of account for decades. It's usually

Checking accounts are loss leaders for most banks, even with low interest rates. And big brokerages have offered this type of account for decades. It's usually called a "cash management account" and works just like a checking account--takes direct deposit, provides checks and an ATM card, etc. Robinhood's innovation might simply be in calling it a "checking account" so the interest rate looks huge (it's actually small compared to expected investing returns) and marketing it to young people who are suspicious of big financial companies.