The interest rate the Federal Reserve charges banks for short-term loans is the discount rate.
Banks access this lending through the Federal Reserve’s discount window, which provides temporary funding when normal market sources are unavailable or unusually expensive. The loans are secured by collateral, such as loans or securities, and are made through the regional Federal Reserve Banks.
In modern terminology, the discount window has several credit programs, including primary, secondary, and seasonal credit. The primary credit rate is the main rate for generally sound depository institutions; “discount rate” is the familiar umbrella term for rates charged on this Federal Reserve lending.
The federal funds rate is different: it is the market rate banks pay when borrowing reserve balances from one another, and the Federal Open Market Committee targets it. The prime rate is generally a commercial-bank lending rate for customers, while LIBOR was an interbank benchmark that was discontinued in major currencies and markets.