moneysupermarket.com: Co-operative Bank’s think credit card

Commenting on the launch of the Co-operative Bank’s think credit card, Rob Kenley, head of credit cards at moneysupermarket.com, said: "While it is encouraging to see the Co-operative Bank is taking steps to reward ethical spending with the launch of this credit card, it is difficult to see how much ethical benefit the card really has.

“The Co-op’s brainchild is to reward people who shop with ethical partners by reducing the interest rate on the card to 7 per cent p.a. for six months following the date of each ethical purchase. Anecdotally two thirds of people pay their balance off in full each month, so very few consumers may feel sufficiently motivated to change their shopping habits.

“In addition there is a small donation of 25p from each £100 spent which is a worthy proposition but unlikely to entice or influence spending. People would be better off getting a 0 per cent card for purchases such as the Halifax One purchase card (0 per cent for 15 months) and donating any interest saved to an ethical cause.”