Report: NCR Considers Selling $2 Billion Digital Banking Business

NCR is reportedly weighing selling its digital banking unit ahead of its planned split.

That’s according to a report Tuesday (May 23) from Reuters, citing unnamed sources who say the sale of the business could be worth more than $2 billion.

These sources said NCR has held discussions with financial advisors about selling the banking business. PYMNTS has contacted NCR for comment but has not yet received a reply.

NCR announced in September that it would divide itself into two publicly-traded operations: one focused on online commerce, and the other centered around ATMs.

“It has become clear that NCR has the opportunity to unlock value for our shareholders by separating our digital commerce business and our ATM business,” Frank R. Martire, executive chairman of the company’s board, said at the time.

“We have made significant strides over the past four years in creating a leading software-as-a-service business while continuing to strengthen and grow the ATM business.”

As PYMNTS reported earlier this month, the company has continued to make deals involving both sides of the business as it awaits the split, scheduled to happen by year’s end.

Reporting first-quarter 2023 earnings on May 4, NCR CEO Mike Hayford said the company’s digital banking business had demonstrated “positive momentum” in the quarter, signing 12 new customers and renewing a dozen more.

The company also inked six ATM-as-a-service deals during the quarter, including First Citizens Bank for 500 ATMs and an end-to-end management solution, and collaborated with credit union service organization (CUSO) Members ATM Alliance to be its exclusive provider of the ATM-as-a-service solution for its members.

PYMNTS spoke last week with Doug Brown, president of NCR, about how the recent collapse of three regional banks has changed the conversations smaller financial institutions are having with customers.

Brown told PYMNTS’ Karen Webster that bankers are dealing with “customer angst about topics they don’t normally inquire about.”

One of the most pressing topics is deposit insurance, and whether the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) will safeguard funds. Those same customers want to know how they can obtain that insurance, said Brown.

“There has been a heightened level of anxiety and concern among the leadership at the community banks — not so much at the credit unions,” he said.

That’s because credit unions have not seen the outflow of deposits and aren’t as deeply tied to business clients’ accounts as the community banks, Brown told Webster.