Did women used to need their husband's permission to open a bank account?
 

Did women used to need their husband's permission to open a bank account?
I'm talking about the 1970's.

The unfortunate death of the actress that played Deirdre Barlow prompted me to remember Deirdre asking her fiance (Ray Langton) if she could have a chequebook after they were married.

Was this just protocol, or did they need their husbands permission? I know that men dealt with the tax affairs of women at that time.

Does anyone know?

Re: Did women used to need their husband's permission to open a bank account?
 

I am sure she was just asking for a cheque book rather than an actual account. my parents and grandparents(when alive) have always had a joint account.

I don't believe for a moment they needed permission to have an account. Just both agree to get a cheque book, same way you would still ask your partner now.

Re: Did women used to need their husband's permission to open a bank account?
 

My wife originally had an account with the Midland ( same as her father). When we got married and moved to a different town, I think she had an argument with the Midland possibly over moving the account to a different branch she closed it and opened one with Lloyds. The joint account was with Westminster (NatWest now).

But at no point was I asked if she could open an account . This was in the sixties.

Re: Did women used to need their husband's permission to open a bank account?
 

I'm not sure if it was explicitly illegal to grant a woman a bank account, however it was not illegal to refuse one until the Sex Discrimination Act, 1975.

Re: Did women used to need their husband's permission to open a bank account?
 

http://www.mmu.ac.uk/equality-and-di...y-timeline.pdf

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/07/li...omen-5-things/


I remember all these issues.They affected my mother and my sister and I definitely remember the not being able to get credit crap.Even Hire Purchase was only open to a women if she was married or had a father to co-sign.

They were not the happy go luck times people like to think they were. I prefer the here and now even if female equality is not entirely parallel yet.

Re: Did women used to need their husband's permission to open a bank account?
 

I do remember at the time she closed the account the bank made a mistake and said showed owed them a small amount of money which her father decided that he had no choice but to pay as his business account was with them.

Re: Did women used to need their husband's permission to open a bank account?
 

they certainly don't need any permission to empty a bank account ;)

Re: Did women used to need their husband's permission to open a bank account?
 

Some useful and interesting info. in those links.

From what I can gather then, Deadrie was asking for a cheque book. As cheques can be written without the funds available to meet them, the account would go overdrawn. As women weren't allowed to have credit without their husbands permission, I guess her husband would have to have authorised it first.

So at that time women could have a bank account without their husbands permission, but not one that could ever go overdrawn as there was no guarantor in place to pay any accrued debt. Laughable logic when you think about it in contemporary terms.

I was in a similar position when I was under 18 and wanted a cheque guarantee card to make my cheques more widely accepted. I had to have a guarantor in place to sign to agree to repay any theoretical debt before they would do this. This, the bank said, was because that legally any debt incurred by a person under 18 could not be legally recoverable.

Re: Did women used to need their husband's permission to open a bank account?
 

In the RAF in the 70s, it was a chargeable offence (male or female) to to overdrawn without agreement - 'bringing the Service into disrepute'.

Re: Did women used to need their husband's permission to open a bank account?
 

Similar to the police now - it's an offence for them to have 'unmanageable' debt as it's believed this would make them susceptible to bribery and corruption.

---------- Post added at 03:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:15 PM ----------

Very interesting, the police one very understandable.

Re: Did women used to need their husband's permission to open a bank account?
 

Similar reasoning why a bankrupt person cannot be an MP. They just find other ways to be corrupt :)

Re: Did women used to need their husband's permission to open a bank account?
 

well i just asked my mum who is 61 and stated she has held an account with Lloyds since she first started work aged 16 and needed no permission.

Are u sure it wasnt a joint account and thats why permission was needed for the cheque book?

Re: Did women used to need their husband's permission to open a bank account?
 

I have had a bank account since the early 60s and never had to get a male, or female relative to give permission to either access my money or use/obtain a cheque book.

I do remember, when we opened our first joint account in 1969, being asked to explain why two chequebooks were required and telling the officious bank clerk that as there were two account holders we needed two chequebooks. I think I was a tad scary even all those years ago so a second chequebook was issued without further comment. :D

I have a feeling that maybe some women even in the 60s felt that they had to let their husbands control all finances so maybe a wife asking her husband for permission to spend money unsupervised was still an accepted practice and this was why Deirdre felt she had to raise the question of getting access to their joint account.

Add/ I also got a cheque guarantee card well before I married in 1969 and again never had to get any form of permission to do so though I was getting a monthly salary paid into the account it was attached to so I assume that was all that was required

Re: Did women used to need their husband's permission to open a bank account?
 

i think ladies used to swoon allot in the old days at the very thought of things like money :D