Sainsbury’s to sell ATM machines after exiting core banking business

Sainsbury’s has agreed to sell its ATM machines to operator Notemachine three months after offloading most of its banking business to Natwest.

Notemachine, part of US-based ATM group The Brink’s Company, is expected to take full ownership of Sainsbury’s roughly 1,370 machines by May 2025.

All of Sainsbury’s ATMs will remain open and in their current location, meaning people can still access the free-to-use service outside its supermarkets and local stores.

As part of a long-term partnership, the supermarket will receive some commission from income generated by the ATMs, which will be allowed to remain located across its stores.

The deal marks the latest stage in Sainsbury’s strategic pivot to focus on its retail business. Its financial services arm now consists of its commission income businesses, including insurance and cash money.

In June, the grocer struck a deal for Natwest to acquire most of Sainsbury’s Bank, including personal loans, credit card balances and around £2.6bn in customer deposits

While Sainsbury’s agreed to pay Natwest £125m for the transaction, it expects Sainsbury’s Bank to eventually return the supermarket at least £250m of excess capital for distribution among shareholders.

The move came four months after rival Tesco sold its core banking arm to Barclays for £600m as part of its “food first” push.

Simon Roberts, chief executive of Sainsbury’s, said on Wednesday: “We are really pleased that we can keep offering our customers free access to cash at all of our existing locations while also simplifying our banking business and reducing our costs.

“We’re confident that Notemachine is the right partner for us and our customers.”

Over the last two decades, supermarkets sought to earn more money from their customers beyond food and drink. These ventures have included telecommunications, broadband, restaurants, energy and more.

Sainsbury’s Bank and Tesco Bank both launched in 1997. Sainsbury’s ran its banking business as a joint venture with Bank of Scotland – part of Lloyds – until taking full ownership in 2014.