My married name didn’t cheque out with Barclays

I got married in 2018 but have mostly kept my maiden name, which still appears on my passport. However, I occasionally receive cheques in my married name. I recently tried to pay one in to my Barclays account and took my marriage certificate to a branch to prove it was me, but it insisted on changing the name on the account.

I fail to see why my marriage certificate was not evidence enough.

This shouldn’t be a problem in this day and age. Do I have to change it again next time I get a cheque in my maiden name!

NR, North Shields

Anti-money-laundering rules have made banks much more vigilant and, while a marriage certificate satisfies some, for the first years of marriage at least, Barclays says its fraud measures require the name on the cheque and the account to match. As cheques are superseded by electronic payments, you will have to regularise your payee details or else payments in your married name will be blocked.

According to Sarah Garner of DAS Law, you’re unlikely to be able to register your bank account in both names, but you could open a linked account in your married name.

Barclays does not offer such a thing, but some of its rivals do.

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