New research carried out for mortgage and loans provider Ocean Finance has found that 23% of UK adults believe that joining finances is confirmation that they’re ‘officially’ a couple.

Of these, 19% say that they know it’s official when they move in with their partner to share the rent (or mortgage) and bills, while a further 4% believe that opening a joint bank account with their other half, or sharing a PIN number with them, confirms coupledom.

Men are more likely to see the practical aspects of joint finances as confirmation of a relationship than women, with 26% saying so, compared with 20% of women. By contrast, women place more emphasis on planning a life together as a key sign that ‘this one’s for keeps’ (37%).

People over the age of 55 are more likely to see moving in together as a sign of a relationship (26%) over any other age group. They are more likely to perceive opening a joint bank account as indication of the status of their relationship (6%) too.

Ocean’s research shows that young people don’t place as much emphasis on financial factors as a way of defining a relationship. Instead, 18-24 year olds place more importance on saying “I love you” to a partner over any other age group (28%). In addition to this, the age group most likely to see introducing their partner to their friends as the first sign of a relationship (14%) are 25-34 year olds.

Ian Williams, spokesman for Ocean, said: “It is interesting to see that a quarter of us mark the official start of coupledom from merging our finances. Whether it’s through moving in together, opening a joint bank account or sharing a credit card, it’s important to be open with each other about your financial history, as your union will be visible to see on credit reference agency records. This means you could inherit any bad credit history from your partner.

“Although not very romantic, finding out how your partner has dealt with money in the past could help stop any surprises when you’re trying to take out credit in the future.”