You and your partner want to manage money together. Maybe it's rent, groceries, a shared Netflix subscription, or planning your first holiday. A joint account sounds like the obvious solution — until you try to open one at your bank.
Most people hit the same wall: the bank wants proof of marriage. Or insists both of you show up in person. Or simply says the account is only for family members. For the millions of Indian couples who are dating, in a live-in relationship, or same-sex, the traditional banking system has no answer.
This guide covers exactly what's available in 2026, what the rules actually say, and what your real options are.
Traditional Indian banks — SBI, HDFC, ICICI, Axis, Kotak — do offer joint savings accounts, but with significant caveats:
Who they serve: Most banks allow joint accounts between family members — spouses, parents and children, siblings. Some allow "anyone" in theory, but branch-level discretion means unmarried couples are frequently turned away.
The documentation problem: Even banks that don't explicitly require a marriage certificate often ask for "proof of relationship." For a married couple, that's a marriage certificate. For a dating couple, there is no equivalent document.
The branch visit requirement: Traditional joint accounts almost always require both holders to be physically present at the branch, bring original identity documents, and complete an in-person KYC process. This is a practical barrier even for eligible couples.
The minimum balance trap: Most joint savings accounts have minimum balance requirements of ₹5,000–₹25,000 depending on the bank and account type. Failing to maintain the minimum triggers quarterly penalties.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) does not prohibit unmarried couples from holding a joint bank account. The RBI's Master Direction on Know Your Customer (KYC) requires banks to verify the identity of all account holders — but does not require them to be related or married.
The restriction is a bank policy choice, not a legal requirement.
This matters because it means the door is not legally closed — it's just that most banks have chosen not to walk through it. The reasons are a mix of legacy KYC processes designed around family units, conservative institutional culture, and a product gap that no major bank has yet bothered to fill.
For same-sex couples specifically, Indian law does not currently recognise same-sex marriage or civil partnerships (as of 2026), which means even banks that accept "married couples" exclude same-sex partners by default.
What to do: Visit a branch together, bring Aadhaar/PAN for both, explain you want a joint savings account.
Reality check: Results vary wildly by branch and relationship manager. Some branches in urban areas are more accommodating; smaller town branches are more likely to follow conservative internal guidelines.
Many couples work around the problem by using one partner's account as the "household account" and doing IMPS/UPI transfers to rebalance.
Apps like Splitwise are useful for tracking who owes what, but they are IOUs — not money. No actual funds are pooled, no cards are issued, and every settlement requires a separate bank transfer.
For a couple managing regular shared expenses, this gets tiresome quickly.
Coupl is a Prepaid Payment Instrument (PPI) issued by LivQuik Technology (India) Pvt Ltd, an RBI-authorised PPI issuer. Because it is a PPI rather than a traditional savings account, it can serve couples who don't fit the traditional bank's definition of a "joint account holder."
Eligibility: All couples. Married, dating, live-in, same-sex — no proof of relationship required. Just Aadhaar/PAN for individual KYC.
Opens in: Under 60 seconds, entirely in-app. No branch visit.
Important caveat: Because Coupl is a PPI and not a bank savings account, funds are not covered under the DICGC ₹5 lakh deposit insurance scheme. It is suitable for day-to-day joint spending — not a replacement for a savings account.
Live-in relationships have legal recognition in India under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 — but banks have not updated their processes to reflect this. In practice, live-in couples face the same barriers as dating couples at traditional banks.
Coupl does not distinguish between relationship types. Whether you've been living together for six months or six years, the eligibility criteria are the same: two adults, individual KYC via Aadhaar/PAN.
Same-sex relationships are not legally recognised in India as of 2026 — the Supreme Court's October 2023 ruling did not extend marriage rights to same-sex couples. This means traditional banks that offer joint accounts to "married couples" categorically exclude same-sex couples.
Coupl was built with inclusivity as a founding principle. Same-sex couples use Coupl on equal terms with any other couple — no additional requirements, no exceptions.
If you are married and want a fully insured savings account, a traditional bank joint account is worth attempting — though expect friction. If you are unmarried, in a live-in relationship, or a same-sex couple, a traditional bank joint account is practically unavailable to you in India today.
Coupl is currently the only product in India built from the ground up for this gap. It is not a bank account — it is a PPI — but for the purpose of managing day-to-day couple expenses from a shared pool, with matching cards for both partners, it does what traditional banks won't.
Available to all couples. Zero balance. No branch visit.
Written by the Coupl Team
Coupl is India's first zero-balance digital joint account for couples. This article was last reviewed on April 2026.