Over a quarter (27 per cent) of British couples could be missing out on higher credit interest rates by not pooling their current account cash, according to new research from Lloyds TSB1.

While nearly three quarters (72 per cent) of couples do have a joint bank account, over a quarter choose not to join forces financially despite the fact that in doing so, they could make their money work harder for them.

Of those couples who don’t have a joint account, two in five (39 per cent) say they

either “don’t trust their partner to spend responsibly” or “don’t want their partner knowing what they earn or spend their money on”.

Those couples who do have a joint account say they have one for practical reasons - 90 per cent say it helps them manage household bills and expenses, while 88 per cent also think that as a couple they should share money. Over half (55 per cent) say it helps them to save money together.

Catherine McGrath, director of current accounts, Lloyds TSB said; “In these testing financial times, it’s never been more important to make your money work as hard as it can for you. But, up until now, there has been no real financial incentive for couples to pool their current account cash. The Lloyds TSB Vantage account has changed this. It is the only fee free current account on the high street which pays up to 5 per cent credit interest on balances up to £7,000, making Vantage ideal for joint accounts, where two incomes are going in each month.”

Vantage is open to both new and existing Lloyds TSB customers and is fee free2. To qualify, customers simply need to pay in at least £1,000 a month and stay in credit3.

Lloyds TSB is the only high street bank to offer a fee-free current account which pays high credit interest on account balances over £5,000. The industry average gross AER on current account balances of £5,000 is just 0.97 per cent, for a balance of £7,000 this falls to 0.84 per cent3.

Interestingly, whilst two in five couples have some reservations when it comes to sharing their money with their partners, 90 per cent say they would happily “share information on their debts”.

However, it appears these reservations come second to an opportunity to make more money - as nearly half (46 per cent) of those without a joint account, say they would get one if they could earn a better rate of interest.

Phillip Hodson, a Fellow of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, comments: “I think some couples get married with their fingers crossed when it comes to that bit about ‘endowing thee with all my worldly goods’ and they want to keep enough cash for themselves to escape if necessary.”

The Lloyds TSB research also revealed many things that couples have no issues sharing with their partners:
- 90 per cent would share information on their debts
- 83 per cent would share information on previous relationships
- 95 per cent would share household and domestic bills
- 93 per cent would share an inheritance
- 80 per cent would share their secrets