UK bank Barclays has signed a five-year contract with Wincor Nixdorf for the management and maintenance of its national network of ATMs

The contract, which begins this spring, includes 3,900 Barclays and Woolwich ATMs, as well as deposit devices and statement printers. According to a report on Finextra.com, Wincor Nixdorf will provide ATM maintenance services from its help desk in Dartford, Kent. According to Barclays, staff from its existing ATM help desk will be offered the opportunity to move to Wincor Nixdorf. The bank says it has consulted with finance union Unifi on the transfer. Steven Robinson, director of Barclays Enable, said the contract will improve the availability of ATMs across the bank's network. "Whilst we will retain control of our ATM strategy, Wincor Nixdorf is well placed to perform management and maintenance of this channel, as they have strong expertise in managing this type of project, as well as the national network to enable them to do so," Robinson said. Wincor Nixdorf has been boosting its service business in Europe and elsewhere. In late 2002, it purchased the third-party service business of Banksys in Belgium, transferring 147 Banksys employees to Wincor Nixdorf. In addition to the Barclays deal, other significant European service wins for Wincor Nixdorf include a five-year contract to install and manage off-premise ATMs for the Bank of Ireland.