There are currently around 217,000 secret credit cards circulating the country, figures show, with people holding them for a variety of reasons.

Findings from the Halifax show that although most people are open and honest about their finances, one per cent of cardholders with a partner have a card their spouse is unaware of.

"It’s important that people are honest about their finances with their partner as it may affect their ability to secure products in joint names," comments Adrian Bryant, head of marketing for Halifax Credit Cards.

Among the reasons for people holding such cards is that they want to buy items they do not want their partners to know about, while some use them as a means of disguising existing debt.

For some people, however, they have an additional credit card in case of emergencies.

Statistics from the British Bankers Association show that credit card lending rose by £300 million and the annual growth rate rose to 8.5 per cent, while annual growth in personal loans and overdrafts has continued to be negative.