A major update has been issued to the 1.8million Sainsbury’s Bank customers who will soon be taken on by Natwest.
Last June, the major supermarket bank announced plans to transfer its personal loans, credit cards, and savings accounts to the high street building society. Sainsbury’s Bank has now confirmed that this transfer will be taking place on May 1.
This transfer will include all of Sainsbury’s Bank’s personal loans, credit cards, and savings accounts, and it is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Sainsbury’s Bank customers have been reassured that they will see no immediate changes to how they use or access their accounts until the transfers are completed.
This means all direct debits, standing orders, spending, payments, and transfers to and from savings accounts will remain unchanged. Customers will also still be able to collect Nectar points with their credit card.
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NatWest will also become the ISA manager for all Sainsbury’s Bank ISAS from May 1. If you have ISAS with both Sainsbury’s Bank and NatWest or Ulster Bank, the accounts will remain separate, and you can continue to contribute to them within the £20,000 ISA allowance. The Bank has written to its ISA customers to give them more details about what the ISA transfer will mean for them.
Sainsbury’s announced plans to wind down its retail banking division in January last year so it could focus more on its retail operations. NatWest agreed to take over the supermarket bank in June 2024. The deal will see Natwest take on £1.4billion of unsecured personal loans, £1.1billion of credit card balances and about £2.6billion of customer deposits overall.
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The sale did not include Sainsbury’s Bank’s commission-income businesses, such as insurance, cash points, and travel money. Argos Financial Services is also not included in the deal, so these will remain the same going forward.
In August 2024, Sainsbury’s Bank pulled its credit card and loans for new customers and stopped accepting new savings account customers in March this year. The High Court granted the formal takeover of Sainsbury’s Bank by Natwest on April 16 this year.
The high street bank said it will give customers 60 days notice of any changes to their account. Although the bank noted that it was working to make sure – where possible – customers’ new accounts would be the same as their existing ones. This includes the overall amount of interest charged for credit cards, the amount of interest earned for savings and any promotional offers.
Once your account is migrated to the NatWest system, you won’t be able to access it through Sainsbury’s Bank’s online banking and mobile app. Natwest said it would be contacting all customers about how they set up an online account, so they can access their money.
If you do not want your account transferred to NatWest, you can close it, pay back any outstanding balance, or withdraw funds.
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