Sainsbury's Bank has announced that its credit card app will cease to function from 5pm on October 3, 2025, as part of the transition of its banking services to NatWest. The move affects approximately 1.8 million customers, whose credit card accounts will be transferred to NatWest between October 3 and 6.
The high street lender sold its credit cards, loans, and savings business to NatWest in June 2024, with the deal including £1.4 billion of unsecured personal loans, £1.1 billion of credit card balances, and around £2.6 billion of customer deposits. Sainsbury's Bank had previously announced its intention to wind down its banking division in January 2024 to focus on its core retail operations.
Affected customers have been notified by letter, and a Sainsbury's Bank spokesperson stated: “There are no immediate changes and nothing customers need to do right now. We will continue to keep them informed throughout the transfer process.” The bank has also stopped accepting new savings applications from March 13, 2025, and sold its travel money business to Fexco Group in July 2025. Its pet insurance business remains unaffected.
Simon Roberts, Sainsbury's CEO, said last year: “NatWest’s values and customer focus are a close fit with ours... There will be no immediate change for our bank customers as a result of this announcement.” Paul Thwaite, NatWest Group CEO, added: “We look forward to welcoming new customers to NatWest Group, where they will benefit from our expertise and award-winning digital banking offering.”
