A MAJOR supermarket bank has pulled its credit card and loans for new customers ahead of a takeover.

Sainsbury’s Bank has stopped accepting applications for new and existing customers following a deal with NatWest.

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Sainsbury’s Bank offered a range of personal banking and insurance products, including personal loans, credit cards, car insurance, and pet insurance, and currently has 1.9 million customers.

Existing customers who already have an active Sainsbury’s Bank credit card can still use their plastic as normal but will eventually be moved to NatWest.

Those with a Sainsbury’s Bank loan with an outstanding balance will need to continue to make their repayments as normal.

However, new customers can no longer apply for either of these products as they have now been pulled from the market.

If you applied for a Sainsbury’s Bank credit card or loan before the application deadline, your application will still be processed.

Customers with a Sainsbury’s Bank credit card can still get one Nectar point back for every £2 spent when shopping at Sainsbury’s, Habitat or Argos.

Shoppers will also continue to get one Nectar point for every £5 spent elsewhere.

Anyone with an interest-free period offered for the first six months, will continue to get the introductory rate.

A Sainsbury’s Bank spokesperson said: “To allow us to carefully manage an orderly exit from our banking operations, we are no longer selling new credit cards and loans.

“Existing credit card customers are unaffected by this change and can continue to use their cards as usual.”

NatWest agreed to purchase Sainsbury’s Bank in June 2024.

This follows Sainsbury’s announcement in January that it would wind down its banking division to focus on its retail business.

NatWest said it expects the takeover to be completed by March 2025, and all customers will be moved over by the end of next year.

However, Sainsbury’s will retain some of its banking activities, including insurance and travel money.

Argos Financial Services is also not included in the deal.

At the moment, there is no need for Sainsbury’s Bank customers to take any action.

It has not yet been decided if the credit cards and loans sold to NatWest will continue to operate under the Sainsbury’s Bank name, or move under Natwest.

At the moment, there are no immediate changes to products or services for existing customers.

However, NatWest told The Sun these customers will not be required to apply for a NatWest credit card.

A spokesperson said: “Customers will not have to apply for a NatWest credit card – we will be making the transition process as smooth as possible.

“We will communicate to customers in more detail in due course, but in the meantime, they can continue to use their cards as normal.”

In the meantime, it’s always worth checking to see if you can get a better credit card deal elsewhere.

HISTORY OF SAINSBURY’S BANK

SAINSBURY’S Bank, founded in 1997, started as a joint venture between J Sainsbury PLC and Bank of Scotland, a subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group.

The supermarket took full ownership of the business back in 2014 for £248million.

However, six years later, new (and remaining) chief executive Simon Roberts announced the supermarket would embark on a “food first” strategy to refocus on its core retail offering and improve returns.

Last summer, Sainsbury’s Bank offloaded its £479million mortgage book to Co-op Bank.

The bank has about 1.9 million active accounts and offers a range of banking products to retail customers only, including credit cards, savings, personal loans, general insurance and travel money.

It also operates a network of ATMs and in-store travel bureaux.

In June 2024, NatWest announced a deal to purchase Sainsbury’s Bank.

Sainsbury’s Bank will pay out £125million to NatWest and £250million to Sainsbury’s as part of the agreement.

FIND THE BEST CREDIT CARD DEALS

To assess all the available cards, visit price comparison websites like MoneySavingExpert’s Cheap Credit Club or Compare the Market.

These sites allow you to tailor the perks you’re looking for, whether it’s cashback, air miles, or other rewards.

You should always use an eligibility calculator before applying, that’s because every credit card application leaves a mark on your credit file and can affect your credit score.

Once you run your details through an eligibility calculator and you’ve been shown that you’re likely to be accepted, make a formal application.

To do this, you will need to provide your name, address and email address as well as details of your income so a provider can assess your eligibility.

You will also need to provide details of how much money you want to transfer to the new card, but you can often do this after you have been accepted.

If your application is approved, you will need to transfer the balances within a set period, usually around 60 or 90 days.

Your old balance will then be cleared and you can start making interest-free repayments on your new card.

OTHER BANKING NEWS

Metro Bank will stop offering credit card services for retail customers in September

New customers can no longer apply for the bank’s personal credit card, which has no fee and a single 18.9% interest rate.

All existing credit cards will stop working from September 10.

It comes just weeks after the bank said that it would introduce fees on all debit card transactions outside of the UK and months after it ended seven-day branch operations.

Metro Bank’s business credit cards and all overdraft offers will be unaffected.

In April, it was announced that the Co-operative Bank will be acquired by Coventry Building Society, pending regulatory approval.

Coventry Building Society agreed to pay £780million in cash for the bank.

In March, Virgin Money agreed to a takeover by Nationwide Building Society in a £2.9billion deal.

In February, Barclays agreed to buy the retail banking arm of Tesco Bank, including acquiring almost 3,000 staff.

Hundreds of bank branches have also closed so far this year.

Over 276 premises shut between January and July, and a further 174 branches will close before the end of the year.

Data from the UK’s largest cash machine network, LINK, keeps track of any planned branch closures across the UK.

How to get free debt help

There are several groups which can help you with your problem debts for free.

• Citizens Advice – 0800 144 8848 (England) / 0800 702 2020 (Wales)
• StepChange – 0800138 1111
• National Debtline – 0808 808 4000
• Debt Advice Foundation – 0800 043 4050

You can also find information about Debt Management Plans (DMP) and Individual Voluntary Agreements (IVA) by visiting MoneyHelper.org.uk or Gov.UK.

Speak to one of these organisations – don’t be tempted to use a claims management firm.

They say they can write off lots of your debt in return for a large upfront fee.

But there are other options where you don’t need to pay.