Quiz test on handling money

Press, 17 September 1976, Page 13

Quiz test on handling money

Are women less competent than men at handling money? In a 10-point quiz, Stella Bruce gives women the opportunity to show that they may not be the “cheque book chumps” some husbands say they are.

London Are you a chump with a cheque-book? Certainly the belief that women are the inferior sex when it comes to dealing with finance dies hard.

There are now women-only banks in the United States, Scotland and France, and recently a New York bank created a furore by insisting that all cheques cashed by wives should bear the husbnad’s initials. “Whether it’s fair or not — and personally I don’t think it is — the average male bank manager still tends to believe that women don’t take money management seriously,” says Miles McKinnon, director of a City of London merchant bank.

As a result, many of us know the feeling of dread when we receive a grim little note asking us to "call round and discuss the conduct of the account,” which is usually a polite way of saying we’ve gone over our overdraft limit once too often. But are we really any

worse than a husband, who invariably goes a lighter shade of pale when the envelope containing his bank statement is dropped into the letterbox. BEST CUSTOMERS

The manager of one suburban branch told me: “In many ways women are the best customers. They are just as capable as men of stable budget management and in many cases are more reliable. We pay them the compliment of treating them as equals. “A man will go over his limit and hope you don’t notice. But a woman will take fright and come in to confess ail. The main drawback with woman customers is that they often know little about the technicalities of banking.”

Of course such statements are the reason why so many women feel like second-class citizens whenever they push open, the doors to conduct a financial transaction.

And it shows. We creep up to the cashier, slip our cheque over, the counter and almost apologise for putting the clerk to so much trouble.

We're the money mice who avert our eyes when the man-

ager passes by, convinced that banks are only interested in people who deal in money which comes by the sack in armoured bullion vans.

But that is wrong. Man-

agers, whether they admit it or not, are interested in anybody’s money however much it is.

They’re simply hard-headed businessmen who borrow from some customers at one rate of interest and lend to others at a higher rate. The bigger the turnover, the greater the profit. They want as many customers as possible, and that includes you and me. BANKING TEST

But are we really the chumps with the cheque-

books that some bank managers and husbands believe us to be? Try this (British) money test and then get your husband to do it. You will soon soon see whose banking bluff has been called. 1. If the figures on the cheque and the written amount don’t tally, is the amount in figures held to be the correct amount? 2. Does a request to a bank to stop a cheque have to be in writing. 3. Can a bank manager give details of your account to anyone without your permission?

4. Can you put a cheque made out to someone else into your account?

5. At what age will most banks issue you with a cheque book? 6. Can you open a bank account in a false name?

7. If a cheque is more than a year old is the bank bound to honour it?

8. What should you do if you get a bad cheque? 9. If you received a cheque which was not dated, would it be illegal to fill in the date yourself? 10. If a bank manager returns your cheque marked RD (return to drawer) when there are funds to cover it,

could you sue him? ANSWERS Now for the answers to find out how you fared in the quiz: 1. No. When the figures and words do not tally, the words are held to be the amount payable. But in most cases a bank would refuse payment until it had checked the amount.

2. The request to stop a cheque does not need to be in writing but banks usually like a signed, confirmation as soon as possible. 3. A manager will give details of your account only if required by a court of law or act of” Parliament. The tax authorities or- similar bodies seldom have access to it—a common misapprehension.

4. You can put any cheque into your account if it is endorsed to you.

5. There is no fixed age to open an account. It is left to the manager’s discretion. 6. You can open an account in a false name if the manager is convinced you have a good reason—for instance, if it is your penname.

7. A cheque becomes “stale” any time between six and 12 months, and a bank may refuse payment. 8. If you get a bad cheque you should at once notify the person from whom you obtained it. If no satisfaction is obtained, legal proceedings may eventually be necessary. 9. If the undated cheque was made out to you, then you have the right to fill in the date. A cheque is not invalid just because it has no date. 10. You can sue a bank manager who returns a cheque marked RD but only if you can prove that your financial reputation has been damaged by his actions. How did you make out? More important, how did y_r husband make out? If you score more than six out of ten you have no reason to feel sheepish in your bank.