Money Meets Romance: 4 Ways Valentine’s Day is Celebrated in Banking
Love and food, are a harmonious combination but what about Love and Finances? Friends or Foes?
The pros and cons of joint accounts for couples are well documented. The behind-the-scenes challenges for neobanks to offer joint accounts are not known because as Leda Glyptis, author of Bankers like us would say `even if you are a banker but not born and risen in KYC/AML` you wouldn’t have a clue what it takes to make that happen. You need special infrastructure and processes to handle joint accounts.
You would think that Revolut with c. 600 features (a global champion in terms of number of features, with 200+ more features than the 2nd neobank on the functionality leaderboard) would surely have a joint account offering. Surprisingly, Revolut only added a joint account offering in the summer of 2023 and only for European clients! According to data from Fintech Insights, the joint account features (opening, managing, closing) are included in the 25 new Account features that Revolut has added over the past two years (out of the total c. 200 features).
Revolut`s worldwide iOS functionality changes from Jan 2022- to Jan 2024
N26 doesn’t offer joint accounts to my knowledge. Users get one card and can activate their account on one phone. N26 has developed an alternative (call it innovation) feature called Shared Spaces. N26 “Shared Spaces” allows 2 or more (max 10) N26 account holders to share money in one place. One N26 account holder sets up the shared space and invites others to join. The person who created the shared space is the sole owner of the space and the funds in it, but they are granting ‘Power of Attorney’ to the other participants to allow them to transfer money in and out. Shared spaces are only available on the paid-for “N26 You” account (€9.90 a month.).
Monzo requires both individuals to have a Monzo account before they can open a joint account. In the US, Chime doesn’t offer joint accounts whereas Sofi does.
Whether you have a joint account or not, both traditional and neobanks position themselves in a variety of ways for Valentine’s Day.
4 types of Banking Initiatives for Valentine’s Day
- Budgeting for Valentine’s Day
`If you worry that you might spend more than necessary, get a virtual card for all your Valentine’s Day shopping needs. Genome’s cards are compatible with Google Pay, Apple Pay, and Garmin Pay and thus can be used for transactions online and contactless payments at stores. Moreover, you can set limits on spending, guaranteeing that you will not overpay for services.`
By Genome, a Lithuanian licensed Electronic Money Institution founded in 2018
- Love spreading via Community Support Initiatives
In the US, Valentine`s Day culture goes beyond romantic relationships. Better Banks, an employee-owned community bank in Illinois, sponsored the 2024 Cuddles with Kindness Valentine’s Day Teddy Bear Drive. The bank is the drop-off location of this initiative which shows one way that banks with branches can spread love.
This initiative supports OSF Children’s Hospital of Illinois.
- Increased Scam Awareness
With the increase in online and digital transactions, Valentine’s Day has unfortunately also become a prime time for scammers.
In 2022, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), nearly 70,000 people reported a romance scam and reported losses amounting to a staggering $1.3 billion. The median reported loss was: $4,400.
AML providers like SanctionScanner, share tips to protect against romance fraud. Guarding against Valentine`s day fraud
- Financial Wisdom, Advice, and Money Talks with your Valentine
Money is emotional and as a 2021 study by Fidelity Investments found: 1 in 5 couples identify money as their greatest relationship challenge!
This month`s article by The Customer Owned Banking Association (COBA) in Australia, is a great example of financial wisdom, advice, and Money Talks that are highlighted on Valentine`s day.
I wouldn’t suggest discussing these topics on Valentine’s Day (even if you aren’t into celebrating it). Consider setting ‘money date times’.
Seven questions to ask your partner about money this Valentine’s Day
The Customer Owned Banking Association (COBA) is the industry association for Australia’s customer-owned banking institutions. Their vision is for more Australians to benefit from a resilient banking sector centered on people and communities.
In conclusion, the intersection of love and finances is a complex yet vital part of modern relationships, with neobanks and traditional banks alike finding innovative ways to cater to couples’ (partners of any sort) financial needs. Even the Indian Fintech market is booming with neobank providers focused on couples; examples include Coupl and Fibbl.
From the intricacies of setting up joint accounts to the creative alternatives, banking services continue to evolve. On the occasion of Valentine’s Day, banking providers are promoting budgeting, community support, scam awareness, and financial wisdom.
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