‘For richer, for poorer’ may sound romantic but few couples seem to truly follow these vows when it comes to financial matters. According to new research from Alliance & Leicester, although nearly half of couples claim to share control of the finances in a relationship, when it comes to bank accounts a third prefer to keep their affairs separate.

Conducted by BMRB International, the research reveals that after saying “I do” financial independence is a much bigger issue for women than men.

• Although two thirds (66%) of married couples have joint back accounts, 36% of married women also have an account in their own name, compared with 30% of men.
• Furthermore, when asked why they don’t have a joint bank account, three quarters of married women (75%) say they like their financial independence and don’t want their partner to know what they’re spending their money on – compared to 59% of men.
• The other main reason for keeping an individual account given by women (14%) is they believe their partners are bad with money.
• 16% of men and 10% of women admitted that they’d be worried if they had a joint account that their partner would dip into it without them knowing. Although trust is meant to be the foundation of any relationship, this doesn’t seem true when it comes to hard-earned cash in a bank account.

Ewan Edwards, Head of current accounts at Alliance & Leicester commented:

“Separate bank accounts and financial independence remain important to people even after they tie the knot, but the research highlights a marked difference between men and women.”

"It seems women are far more concerned about being financially independent than men are, even though men are more worried about their partners mismanaging their joint finances.”