Bimbo and Gbenga Olaleye walked down the aisle in September 2010. Shortly after that, Bimbo started observing some strange behaviour in Olaleye, her husband. The odd behaviour had to do with her husband’s reckless spending. Further investigation by Bimbo proved that her husband had a mistress whom he spends money on. There was naturally commotion in the new home!
Thereafter, Bimbo took a step she felt could nip the problem in the bud. She says, “I requested that we open a joint bank account to enable me monitor his unnecessary spending. We are running a bar business together and for some time, despite great sales, there’s nothing to show for it.
Fortunately, ever since we started operating the account, it has been so helpful,” she submitted. Joint accounts usually provide each account holder the privilege of a debit card, a cheque book and the ability to make deposits and withdrawals depending on the type of account.
In some cases, each account holder also has online access to account information and other tools, like text messages, thus further simplifying the process of keeping track of any transactions. While, Bimbo’s example is a case where a joint account was a solution to infidelity, another wife saw a joint account as a threat to her marriage. Pastor Taiwo Odukoya, presiding pastor of Fountain of Life Church, shared the experience he had while counseling the couple.
“It was a heated argument in my office between this young married couple. The young lady had come to see me with her husband for what she said was a threat to their marriage. I was a little worried because they were very committed church members and had been married for just two years.
As it turned out, it was all about money. Specifically, it was about how the man was handling the money in their joint account. deaf ears. No longer able to cope with the situation, she opened a separate account and that was the beginning of her troubles,” Pastor Odukoya revealed. For Busayo Amole, a married teacher in Lagos state, joint account between couples should be the norm in marriage.
“A couple who are truly ‘one’ will be one in all areas of their marriage. Most importantly, they will be of one mind regarding spiritual matters too. Why won’t “They had decided that there was no point having separate accounts after their wedding.
So they opened a joint account and both closed down the separate accounts they had operated prior to their wedding. Unfortunately, the man was not so prudent and had practically shut her out of their finances.
All entreaties to let her have a separate account had fallen on husband and wife share everything?” Amole asked. “Doesn’t the Bible say the two shall become one flesh, be naked, and unashamed? That simply means being open and not hide anything from one another.
This is the true essence of marriage. I admire few couples who show the world that true marriage is all about sharing things in common. I am talking about the couples who would give their spouses all the passwords to their phones and social media accounts and have a joint account as well. It is working for me, no reason to regret,” she argued.
As for Clara Eyo, mother of four and also a civil servant, if there has to be joint account, there must also be separate accounts too. “A joint bank account is okay if the couple would respect it and not do anything sneaky.
But before dabbling into it, the couple has to conspicuously define what the account is for, such as household maintenance. But each person would now have his or own personal bank account and what they do with it will be their choice, so that there won’t be argument about giving or spending too much money.”
However, as for many others who spoke to Saturday Mirror, it is no to joint account. Joyce Uwakwe is full of regret for committing herself to having a joint account with her husband. She shares: “While I was in paid employment, I did joint account under current and I really enjoyed it.
Then, we were three signatories to that account. The other two parties were not always around, so what they do is to sign ahead. “But the present joint account I’m into with my husband is a complete opposite of the first one. I’m even regretting it because there is nothing I’m gaining from it.
My husband withdraws money anyhow, in fact, he frequents there without the bank alerting me. All attempts to make the bank to always alert me have failed. Since it is a joint account, the other party should always know what is going on there.
Unfortunately, it’s not so in Nigeria,” Uwakwe lamented. Says Favour Chinenye, a single lady: “I can only operate it if the money is coming from my husband’s pocket. And if I’m working, I will have another account.
That is the only way I can agree to joint account. So if we are both working, we can use the joint account to sort our dues. Again, if that has to be my only account, it won’t be possible because I am a woman. I’ve got personal needs to meet and my family to always cater for.” For Maureen Eyo, also a single lady, joint account is no-go area. “Do people really run it? I really don’t even know if there’s such in today’s marriages. It’s only possible where there is absolute trust.
That is a case where both parties do not have any other secret personal account,” she said. To have a joint bank account or not is the question majority of married couples will have to answer at some point. Unfortunately, the answer is not as straightforward as the question; it is never an outright yes or no. Often, the answer lies somewhere in-between.
Many get into marriage with the intention of becoming one with their spouse in every area, including their finances. Having a joint account therefore becomes a natural step. They soon discover, however, that as much as it is desirable to pull the family funds into one account, a lot of details need to be worked out so that one party does not feel cheated or restricted.
Daily Mail research in United Kingdom showed that only one-third of couples have a joint account, with others keeping separate finances to avoid arguments or their partner spending their money recklessly. 34 percent of people who are either married (or living together) run their finances solely through a joint account, while 38 percent have both individual and shared accounts.
But 28 percent of people prefer to keep totally separate financial arrangements, with 81percent of women who do not have a joint account anxious to maintain their independence. Just under a quarter of men and 13 percent of women keep their own accounts to avoid arguments, while 18 per cent of men said they earned more and wanted to keep their money separate, and 21per cent of men worried that their partner would dip into a joint account without them knowing.
A lady, who works with First Bank but does not want her name mentioned, clarifies on how best to operate joint account: “When an account such as joint account is to be opened, a lot of details need to be worked out so that one party does not feel cheated or restricted. The data and the details of the couples have to appear. From the outset, there has to be an agreement on the terms and conditions of the operation. For instance, if only one person can sign before any transaction or the two parties.
Whichever procedure adopted in the first place has to be followed religiously. Any of the procedures is subject to change by both parties. One person cannot unilaterally alter the existing procedure.” On whether couples are adopting such account, she said: “People are adopting it in many cases.
It is not only couples that adopt joint account, even siblings and business partners also operate joint account.” From research, the immaturity of one party, and inability to handle the finances in a joint account in an acceptable manner to both parties can lead to resentment and friction in the home.
But, a major advantage of a joint bank account, according to Uwakwe, is that, “In the long run, especially in the event of one spouse passing away, joint accounts provide a legal covering for the other party to easily access the family funds. This is different from sole account ownership, where a surviving spouse will have to go through a lengthy and often frustrating process to access the account.
“In addition, there are less chances of encountering financial ‘surprises’ when all the family finances go into and come out of one account. It is easier for couples with joint accounts to keep track of their finances and balance the family account at the end of the month,” Uwakwe said.
Sony George, a married man with two children, has no regrets having joint account with his wife. He also shared the benefits he has enjoyed so far. “Married couples find joint accounts easier to manage since their money can easily be accessed in one account.
With a joint bank account, it is also easier to pay bills and expenses. There is transparency and accountability with regard to managing your finances since both spouses see the financial activities of each other. It also encourages communication and unity between the couple.”
Whatever has advantages certainly also has disadvantages. For George, the disadvantages are also numerous. “Having a joint bank account instead of separate bank accounts might make an individual feel confined in a marriage because he or she does not have his or her own money. Joint bank accounts put an emphasis on ‘our money,’ so it is hard to surprise your partner with gifts because he or she will easily see it in joint financial transactions.
There is no privacy in joint bank accounts and you don’t have any control on the spending of your partner. “In addition, if only one of the partners handles all the financial paperwork and account checking, he or she may harbour resentment towards his or her partner for all the extra work,” George said.
As the argument for and against joint bank accounts rages, Gandonu Babatunde, psychology lecturer at Lagos State University, said: “We cannot totally say it is good or bad. It depends on an individual. But this is Africa; the disadvantage may be more than the advantages.
For instance in a situation where the man or the woman is the first born in the family whereby others look up to them for assistance, the operation of such account may be difficult. Based on our cultural setting, you will say, to practice common purse may be a little bit difficult because sometimes, the expenditure gears toward one side than the other, the other person may look at it as cheating.” Babatunde added that joint account could also lead to attacks from extended families.
He explained: “For the man, his people may think that it is his wife that is controlling him or he has been bewitched by the wife. Especially when he tells his people to wait until his wife comes before he can give them financial assistance. The woman will definitely be receiving attacks here and there. If you look critically at African culture, the disadvantages are more than advantages.”
Babatunde, however, noted that joint bank account is working for some people and also identified the major benefits in it. “The major advantages I see there is faithfulness and trust in one another. There is a trust that either I am alive or not alive I know he will spend the money wisely, the way I will spend it if I were there. It will help the couple to guard against reckless spending because before you can spend anything the other person must know about it.
” In reaction to what happens in the case of divorce, especially on projects done with such account, Babatunde says: “In such instance, it is the court that will decide, since the marriage was legally contracted. So if they want to part ways, they can sit down and divide what they have because if that is not done, the woman will be the loser.”
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