This month Cancer Research will be celebrating the twentieth anniversary of their partnership with Halifax and Bank of Scotland to bring a good value, competitive credit card which incorporates charitable donations with spending.

Despite many other charities taking part in similar schemes, the partnership between Cancer Research and the two banks has been the most successful partnership of this type in the UK since its launch in 1988.

Over the past twenty years, the Cancer Research credit card has attracted millions of customers, more than any other charity credit card, and has raised over £12 million further research into beating cancer. The Cancer Research credit card offers exclusive, great value deals such as 0 per cent on balance transfers and purchases for the first 9 months and a typical APR of 16.9 per cent.

In addition to this, Halifax will donate £20 to the charity when new customers first take out the credit card and 0.25 per cent of the amount each customer spends on the credit card. By simply spending the money which they would have spent anyway, customers can help fight cancer. This has proved very popular to customers and the credit card is still widely used and successful, despite the restricted spending patterns of consumers associated with the credit crunch.

Both Cancer Research and HBOS (owner of Halifax and the Royal Bank of Scotland), are extremely pleased with their partnership and offered their thoughts on the upcoming anniversary. Paul Farthing, from Cancer Research UK, said: "Our partnership with HBOS has been hugely successful. The money raised in the past twenty years has played a vital role in helping us fund the charity's research into the causes and treatments of all forms of cancer.

“For example, £12 million is equivalent to running more than 13 laboratories at the charity's prestigious London Research Institute (LRI) for one year.”

"In the time since we launched the charity credit card with HBOS, we've seen significant progress in cancer research. The overall cancer death rate has dropped by a fifth in the past twenty years and half of people now survive cancer for more than five years, compared to just over a third of people twenty years ago.”

“And, while we know that more than one in three people in the UK will develop cancer at some time in their lives, the good news is that we are also seeing more and more people surviving thanks to earlier detection, more effective diagnosis and improved treatments made possible by ongoing research into cancer."

Meanwhile, Ken Stannard, head of HBOS credit cards, added what celebrating this anniversary means to HBOS: "To be celebrating this momentous anniversary of our partnership with Cancer Research UK is evidence of the ongoing popularity of charity credit cards and the real difference that they can make.”

“It's great to know that donations made through the HBOS charity credit card has helped Cancer Research UK's life-saving work and we look to continuing this successful partnership in the future."