Best banks for joint accounts in the UK

Looking to open a new current account as a pair? It could be useful to have a joint bank account for managing household bills and other shared finances.

There are lots of UK joint accounts out there, especially as most of the major banks offer their standard current accounts as joint accounts too. So, which is the best one to choose?

If you need help narrowing down your options, read on. We’ve put together a helpful rundown of the 8 best banks for joint accounts in the UK, including info on account features and fees.

Thinking of using the money services provider Wise for low-cost international transfers? It’s good to know that you can link joint bank accounts to it, so you can seamlessly fund any of your overseas transfers or payments.

Please see the Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise fees & pricing for the most up-to-date information on pricing and fees.

But more on that later. Let’s get back to joint accounts, starting with why you might want to open one.

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Table of contents
The benefits of a joint account Things to know before opening a joint account in the UK 8 of the best banks for joint accounts in the UK 1: Starling Bank 2: First Direct 3: Monzo 4: Revolut 5: Santander 6: HSBC 7: Halifax 8: TSB Save with Wise when managing your money internationally

The benefits of a joint account

So what exactly is a joint account and why open one? It’s essentially just a current account, offering all the features and tools you need for everyday banking. Most banks make their current accounts available as both solo and joint personal accounts.

Joint accounts offer a number of advantages, such as:

• Making it easier to manage and budget for household bills, mortgage payments etc.
• Having one central account in which to pool your funds
• Helping to prevent arguments about money (as long as you have some rules about how the account is managed).

Things to know before opening a joint account in the UK

• You should only open a joint account with someone you trust.
• Your credit file will be financially linked to the other account holder’s file. If they have a poor credit history, this could affect your ability to get credit in the future.
• You don’t have to be married to open a joint account together. In fact, you don’t need to be a couple - many providers let you open joint accounts with a parent, sibling or trusted friend.
• Either person can withdraw all of the balance. They don’t need permission, unless you set up ‘two people to sign’ settings on the account.
• If the relationship breaks down, it’s possible to freeze your joint account until you can make a decision together about what to do with it.

📚 Read more: Can I open a joint account online in the UK?

8 of the best banks for joint accounts in the UK

Here’s our list of the best UK banks for joint accounts:

1. Starling Bank
2. First Direct
3. Monzo
4. Revolut
5. Santander
6. HSBC
7. Halifax
8. TSB

Now, let’s take a more detailed look into each bank’s details of account types, features and fees.

1: Starling Bank

The Starling Bank joint account is a feature-packed current account from one of the UK’s most popular digital banks. It’s app-based (as Starling doesn’t have any physical branches), and comes with no monthly fees.

The account offers everything you need for everyday banking, whether it’s covering bills or putting money aside for a rainy day. It focuses on making it easier to manage shared finances, with tools such as bill splitting, joint debit cards and shared savings goals.

The Starling Bank Personal Joint Account offers the following features:¹

• Instant notifications for incoming and outgoing payments
• Spending insights and analytics tools
• Shared Savings Spaces, so you can track shared savings goals
• Round ups, for rounding up transactions and putting money aside in virtual change jars
• Bills Manager for organising and paying bills
• Mastercard debit card, managed through the app (including card control and locking features).
• 24/7 customer support based in the UK
• FSCS protection up to £85,000 per person, so £170,000 for a joint account
• No fees for using your card overseas
• Domestic and international transfers
• Fully digital signup.

Looking for banking solutions for the whole family? You can sign up for Starling Kite (for an extra monthly fee). It’s a debit card and app just for children, which parents can manage through their own Starling joint account.

2: First Direct

First Direct’s 1st Account is available as both a solo and joint account. It has no monthly fees, and there’s often a welcome bonus up for grabs if you switch to First Direct. For example, right now there’s a £175 switching bonus offer.²

Once you open the account, you’ll have access to the following features:²

• A linked Regular Saver account paying 7% AER interest
• A £250 interest-free overdraft (subject to eligibility)
• Pay in cash and cheques at the Post Office, plus HSBC branches (as First Direct doesn’t have branches of its own)
• ‘Sweep’ feature, which automatically moves spare money from your current to your savings account when set up.
• FSCS protection up to £170,000 (£85,000 per person).

You can apply for the First Direct’s Joint 1st Account online, and manage it through mobile or online banking.

3: Monzo

The popular online bank Monzo offers joint as well as solo personal accounts. You can apply through the bank’s mobile app for Monzo Joint Accounts, but you’ll both need to open a regular Monzo account first.³

Features on offer include:³

• A joint account card each, in addition to your Monzo personal account card. It has a different design, so you can easily tell the two apart.
• Earn 4.00% AER variable interest
• Payments categorised by who made them in your transaction feed
• FSCS protection up to £170,000 (£85,000 per person)

Bear in mind that Monzo doesn’t have any branches as it’s a digital bank. So it’s probably not the right choice for you if you prefer popping into a local branch to manage your account. But the mobile app is designed to be user-friendly and packed full of useful tools.

📚 Read more: How to make international payments with Monzo: A guide

4: Revolut

Now for another digital provider, the fintech company and money app Revolut. It offers a joint account alongside its main personal account, with a choice of monthly plans available:⁴

• Standard - Free
• Plus - £2.99 a month
• Premium - £6.99 a month
• Metal - £12.99 a month
• Ultra - £45 a month.

The more you pay, the more features you get. The free plan offers all the essential tools and services you’ll need for everyday banking, along with interest on savings, limited fee-free currency exchange and limited fee-free ATM withdrawals.⁴

But upgrade and you’ll gain access to higher limits, better rates and perks such as discounted airport lounge access, global medical insurance, everyday insurance and priority customer support (dependent on plan).⁴

You can open a Revolut joint account with whoever you share your money with. This doesn’t have to be a spouse or partner - it could be your mum or dad, sibling or even a trusted friend.

It’s pretty quick and easy to open a Revolut account online and you can order a card each and access helpful money tools through the Revolut app.

5: Santander

High street bank Santander has quite a few current account options suitable for joint applicants. There’s the Everyday Current Account, a simple and straightforward option with no monthly fee and a Santander debit card each.⁵

But if you’re looking for a few more benefits, you might want to consider the Santander Edge or Santander Edge Up current accounts. Both are available as joint accounts, with full FSCS protection up to £170,000.

The Santander Edge account has a monthly fee of £3, with features including:⁵

• Cashback on selected household bills, supermarket and travel spending
• Access to a linked savings account with exclusive rates
• No fees for using your debit cards outside the UK.

You will need to be able to fund the account with at least £500 a month, and have two active Direct Debits.

The Santander Edge Up current account is an upgraded version, with a slightly higher monthly fee of £5. In return, you’ll get:⁵

• Cashback on selected household bills, supermarket and travel spending
• Earn interest on credit balances up to £25,000
• No fees for using your debit cards outside the UK.

To be eligible for this account, you’ll need to pay in at least £1,500 a month between you and have two active Direct Debits.

📚 Read more: Best Santander savings accounts in the UK

6: HSBC

One of the largest banks in the UK, HSBC offers a number of current accounts suitable for two applicants.

Possibly the best choice is the HSBC Advance account. It has no monthly fee, but offers lots of benefits to help your joint finances go further.⁶

Features and perks include:⁶

• Access to a 5% AER Regular Saver account
• Optional arranged overdraft with a minimum of £1,000 (subject to eligibility)
• The HSBC mobile app, offering smart money tools such as Spending Insights, instant notifications and Monthly Budgets to help you manage shared finances.You can also see all of your HSBC products in one place, such as mortgages and loans.
• Discounts on shopping, travel, dining and more with the HSBC home&Away offers programme
• Cash withdrawal limit of £500 a day
• Emergency cash transfers up to $10,000 USD to any HSBC branch worldwide
• Free international account opening.

HSBC offers a choice of ways to manage your money. The app is a convenient option, but you can also bank online, over the phone and in branch.

To open an HSBC account, you’ll both need to be over the age of 18 and qualify for an optional arranged overdraft of at least £1,000.⁶

7: Halifax

You can open any of Halifax’s current accounts (except student and youth accounts) in joint names. This gives you the choice of the following:⁷

• Current Account - a standard everyday account with no monthly fee, a contactless debit card each and mobile banking
• Reward Current Account - offering all the features of the standard Current Account, but with Reward Extras (subject to meeting conditions) such as cinema tickets, cashback, digital movie rentals or digital magazines. There’s a fee of £3 a month, waived if you pay in £1,500 a month between you.
• Ultimate Reward Current Account - a feature-packed packaged account, offering Reward Extras, mobile phone insurance, breakdown cover, travel insurance and more. The fee is £17 a month, non-waivable.

The packaged account also has just one monthly fee, but both account holders can benefit from the insurance and other features. So if you’ll use the perks, it could be decent value.⁷

8: TSB

TSB offers a couple of great options for couples in need of a joint account.

If you don’t want to pay a monthly fee, there’s the TSB Spend & Save account.

This is an everyday account offering features such as:⁸

• Access to a 6.00% AER Monthly Saver account
• Savings Pots, paying interest of 2.92% AER variable
• Earn £5 cashback every month for the first 6 months, when you make 20 debit card payments within the month
• Up to £2,000 shared overdraft (subject to application and approval)
• Extra cashback when booking travel and more through TSB Marketplace.

If you’re willing to pay more, you can get all of these features plus fee-free card payments overseas with the Spend & Save Plus Account. What’s more, you’ll get £5 cashback a month, every month - rather than just for the first 6.⁸

The fee is £3 a month, which is effectively cancelled out by the cashback.⁸

📚 Read more: Top cashback bank accounts in the UK: features, costs, and tips

Save with Wise when managing your money internationally

Shopping around for the best account for your needs? Make sure to check out the Wise account from the money services provider Wise.

With this account you’ll get some features which are similar to those available from regular bank accounts, such as the option to hold a Balance, send and receive payments, and spend with a linked card. It’s not a joint account, but you can link a joint bank account to it - this makes funding your payments seamless and easy to keep track of.

You can manage your money in 40+ currencies, including making international payments for low fees* and mid-market exchange rates. These rates are often much better than you’ll get when you use your bank for international transactions.

For a one-time cost of just £7, you can get a Wise debit card which has no foreign transaction fees for spending abroad. You can withdraw up to £200 a month from overseas ATMs with no Wise fees.

What’s more, the Wise account in the UK can earn you a return on balances in GBP, EUR and USD by investing in an interest earning fund. Just note, investments, even in a low-risk fund are never guaranteed.

Sign up with Wise today 💰

Please see the Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise fees & pricing for the most up-to-date information on pricing and fees. Capital at risk.

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Sources used:

1. Starling Bank - Joint Bank Account
2. First Direct - Joint Account
3. Monzo - Joint Accounts
4. Revolut - Our Pricing Plans
5. Santander - Current Accounts
6. HSBC - Advance
7. Halifax - Current Accounts
8. TSB - Current Accounts

Sources last checked on date: 18-Oct-2023

Capital at risk. Growth not guaranteed. Wise Assets UK Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority with registration number 839689. When facilitating access to Wise investment products, Wise Payments Ltd acts as an Introducer Appointed Representative of Wise Assets UK Ltd. Please be aware that we do not offer investment advice, and you may be liable for taxes on any earnings. If you’re uncertain, we urge you to seek professional advice. To find out more about the Funds, visit our website.