earmarkIQ's Partner Finance lets couples manage money together without a joint account. Connect existing personal bank accounts via Open Banking across 50+ UK banks, get a combined household view, split bills by income ratio, and set shared savings goals — all with full privacy controls. Ask IQ, the AI financial advisor powered by Claude (Anthropic), can answer household-level questions like "Are we splitting bills fairly?" using real transaction data. Available on all earmarkIQ tiers. FCA Appointed Representative of Finexer Ltd (FRN 925695). iOS launching May 2026.
The Problem with Managing Money as a Couple
Managing money with a partner is one of the most common sources of friction in relationships — not because people are bad with money, but because the tools available are genuinely inadequate. Most couples end up in one of three situations, all of which are compromises:
Opening a joint account works for bills, but many couples are uncomfortable combining all their money — particularly early in a relationship, or where incomes are unequal. Joint accounts also have credit implications and create complexity if the relationship changes.
One partner maintains a shared spreadsheet tracking who's paid what. Accurate in theory, but requires constant manual updates, falls behind quickly, and provides no intelligence — it just stores numbers.
Bills are split informally, goals are discussed verbally, and nobody has a clear picture of the household's financial position. Works until something goes wrong — a large unexpected expense, a disagreement about spending, or one partner feeling the split is unfair.
earmarkIQ's Partner Finance mode is designed as a fourth option: connected, intelligent, private where it needs to be, and shared where it helps.
How Partner Finance Works
Partner Finance connects two earmarkIQ accounts via a unique partner code. Each partner keeps their own earmarkIQ account with their own bank connections — nothing about the mechanics of your personal finances changes. What you gain is a shared layer on top.
One partner generates a Partner Code
In earmarkIQ settings, generate a unique partner code. Share it with your partner — by message, in person, however you like.
Partner enters the code in their earmarkIQ app
Takes 30 seconds. Both accounts are now linked. Either partner can disconnect at any time from their own settings.
Toggle between personal and household view
The home screen now has a household toggle. Switch to household view and you see the combined financial picture — combined income, combined spending by category, shared bills, joint goals. Switch back and you see only your own.
Set what's shared and what's private
You control exactly what appears in the household view. Include the accounts and categories you want to share, keep personal spending private. Your partner never sees your individual transactions unless you choose to share them.
Shared Goals and Joint Savings
This is where Partner Finance becomes genuinely powerful. Most couples have shared financial goals — a house deposit, a wedding, a holiday, an emergency fund — but no good tool for tracking them together. earmarkIQ's joint goals work like this:
Create a goal (house deposit, emergency fund, holiday, etc.) and mark it as a joint goal. Both partners see the same progress bar, contribution split, and deadline. Set individual contribution amounts — either equal or proportional to income. earmarkIQ tracks actual contributions from each partner's connected accounts and updates the progress automatically. No manual updates required.
The AI salary allocation feature integrates directly with joint goals. On payday, earmarkIQ's AI generates each partner's salary split — and factors in their contribution to joint goals as a line item. The result: both partners' payday allocations are coordinated around the same shared objectives, without needing to discuss it every month.
With Payment Initiation Services (PIS), earmarkIQ can move each partner's contribution to their goal savings account automatically on payday. The money moves before either partner touches it.
Splitting Bills Without a Joint Account
For couples living together, bills are the most common financial friction point. Who paid the council tax this month? Are we splitting the broadband 50/50 or proportional to income? Did the electricity go up?
earmarkIQ's Partner Finance mode handles household bills across separate accounts:
Switch to household view and see all recurring household bills in one place — rent/mortgage, utilities, broadband, council tax, subscriptions — regardless of which partner's account they come from. The total household bill burden is calculated automatically.
Set each bill as jointly owned and specify the contribution split (50/50, 60/40, or based on income ratio). earmarkIQ tracks which partner has paid each bill and whether contributions are in balance.
earmarkIQ's Subscription Radar monitors household subscriptions across both accounts. If your broadband price quietly increases, or a streaming service raises its price, the alert appears in both partners' apps — whoever's account the charge comes from.
earmarkIQ's marketplace compares your household's current energy, broadband, and insurance bills against better deals available — and tells you how much you could save by switching. Recommendations are personalised to your actual usage data, not generic estimates.
Ask IQ for Couples — Agentic Household Finance
Ask IQ, earmarkIQ's AI financial advisor powered by Claude (Anthropic), has access to the combined household view when you're in Partner Finance mode. This unlocks a category of question that no other UK personal finance app can answer.
On paid tiers (Pro and Unlimited), Ask IQ is agentic — it doesn't just answer questions, it can take actions. In the Partner Finance context this means:
Ask IQ can set up standing transfer rules that move your contribution to a joint goal savings account automatically on payday, using Payment Initiation Services. Your partner does the same on their side. The goal progresses without either of you remembering to transfer manually.
Ask IQ can update shared budget categories based on your instructions — "increase our joint grocery budget to £400/month" — with the change reflecting immediately in both partners' household views.
Ask IQ surfaces joint financial insights automatically — when household spending in a category is running ahead of budget, when a shared bill is due, when you're on track or behind on a joint goal. These appear in your weekly AI briefing without you needing to ask.
Who Partner Finance Is For
The most common use case. You split bills informally, have separate finances, but want a clear household view and shared goals without opening a joint account.
Planning a wedding, saving for a house, combining finances gradually. Partner Finance gives you the shared view and joint savings tracking without forcing a complete financial merger before you're ready.
Partner Finance isn't just for romantic partners. Housemates splitting rent, utilities, and grocery bills can use the same shared bill tracking and contribution management.
When one partner earns significantly more, the 50/50 split can feel unfair. earmarkIQ lets you set a custom contribution ratio — based on income percentage or a fixed split — and tracks actual contributions against that target.
Privacy: What Your Partner Can and Cannot See
This is the question most couples ask first, and rightly so. earmarkIQ's approach is explicit: you share what you choose to share, and nothing more.
In the default Partner Finance setup, your partner sees the household spending view — categories, totals, and shared bills — but not individual transactions from your personal accounts. If you spend £80 on something you'd rather keep private, it appears as part of your "personal spending" total in the household view, not as an itemised line.
You can adjust this at any time: share more (including individual transactions), or share less (just joint goals and bills). The controls are in your earmarkIQ settings and take effect immediately.
earmarkIQ uses read-only Open Banking connections. Neither partner can move money from the other's accounts — even in Partner Finance mode. Ask IQ's agentic actions (automated transfers) only affect the account of the partner who authorises them. Full financial independence is maintained throughout.
Frequently Asked Questions
About earmarkIQ
earmarkIQ is a UK personal finance app launching on iOS in May 2026. It is an FCA Appointed Representative of Finexer Ltd (FRN 925695) and ICO registered (CSN2001882). earmarkIQ provides Open Banking account aggregation across 50+ UK banks via Finexer, AI-powered salary allocation, Payment Initiation Services (PIS), subscription price creep detection, capital gains tracking, salary sacrifice optimisation, marriage allowance detection, and a financial product marketplace. The AI financial advisor, Ask IQ, is powered by Claude (Anthropic). Subscription tiers: Free (£0), Plus (£4.99/mo), Pro (£9.99/mo), Unlimited (£14.99/mo). Website: earmarkiq.app
Manage money together, stay independent
Partner Finance is available on all earmarkIQ tiers. Connect your accounts, invite your partner, and get a shared financial picture without a joint account.
Join the Waitlist — FreeiOS · May 2026 · FCA regulated · Free tier available
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