ANNA Money

ANNA Money is a fintech business account provider that combines banking with accounting and tax capabilities in a single app. Unlike traditional banks, ANNA is not a bank itself; it is an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. This is an important distinction. ANNA provides safeguarded accounts where your money is held securely, but funds in your main ANNA account are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) deposit protection that applies to traditional banks. Instead, ANNA's funds are safeguarded under the EMI regulations, which means they are kept separate from ANNA's own operating capital and held with partner banks. This is a different regulatory model from a licensed bank, and it is worth understanding before you choose ANNA: your money is secure, but it has a different legal standing than money deposited with Lloyds or NatWest.

ANNA serves UK sole traders, freelancers, limited company directors, partnerships, landlords, and small teams. The platform is designed to be a complete business accounting solution within one app; it is not just a payment account but a combination of business banking, invoicing, expense management, receipt capture, and optional tax filing. You get a sort code and account number, the ability to issue invoices to clients, tools to track expenses and categorise spending, and access to automated tax calculation if you add the optional +Taxes service. ANNA also provides optional expense cards that your team members can use to pay for business expenses, with all spending automatically flowing into your expense tracking within the app. The platform targets small businesses and freelancers who want their banking, invoicing, and accounting in one place rather than juggling separate tools.

What ANNA actually delivers is a lean digital business account with integrated accounting tools. When you open an ANNA account, you receive a UK sort code and account number just like any other business account. Incoming payments land in the same place as they would at a traditional bank, and you can spend money using the ANNA debit card, make transfers to suppliers, and issue payments to HMRC. The difference is that all of this sits within ANNA's mobile app, alongside invoicing, expense capture via photo, receipt storage, team collaboration features, and automatic bank reconciliation with your accounting records. If you are a freelancer or sole trader who currently pays invoices, logs expenses in a spreadsheet, and uses separate accounting software, ANNA consolidates those workflows into one application. For limited company directors, ANNA offers an optional +Taxes add-on that handles Corporation Tax filing, VAT submission, and payroll calculation, which eliminates the need to buy separate accounting software.

The account opening process is entirely digital and designed to be quick. You download the ANNA app, provide proof of identity and address, confirm your business structure (sole trader, limited company, partnership, or landlord), and the account opens within days. For limited companies, ANNA verifies your Companies House registration. The verification is less cumbersome than with a high street bank; there are no branch visits or lengthy identity checks. Once the account is active, you have an immediate sort code and account number and can start receiving payments or issuing invoices. ANNA also allows team members to access the account and manage expenses, which is useful if you are working with co-founders, partners, or employees who need visibility into spending.

ANNA's core strength is simplification for small businesses. If you are a freelancer or director of a small limited company, the advantage of ANNA is that you do not need to subscribe to separate services for banking, invoicing, and accounting. The app handles all three, and because all your transactions are captured within one system, the data flows automatically into your tax calculations if you use +Taxes. Receipt capture by photograph is a real convenience; instead of storing physical receipts or uploading PDFs to accounting software, you photograph them in the app and they are automatically attached to the corresponding expense. Cashback rewards on spending is another feature that competes with traditional debit card offerings. The +Taxes service eliminates the need to hire an accountant for straightforward corporation tax and VAT filings, which saves money for directors of small limited companies who would otherwise pay between £200 and £500 per year for a basic accounting service.

ANNA's pricing structure is straightforward. The account comes in three tiers: Pay As You Go (no monthly fee, but 0.95% commission on incoming payments), Business (£22.90 per month plus VAT, with 60 free local transfers and up to 5 expense cards included), and Big Business (£59.90 per month plus VAT, with unlimited transfers and expense cards). Each tier includes invoicing and expense capture as standard. The optional +Taxes add-on costs £29 per month plus VAT and is available only for limited companies; it covers Corporation Tax filing, VAT submission, automatic tax calculation, and payroll functionality. If you are a sole trader, the Business plan at £22.90 per month plus VAT is the standard entry point, while a limited company director might choose the same tier or upgrade to Big Business depending on transaction volume and the value of unlimited transfers. The commission on the Pay As You Go plan means it makes sense only for businesses with very few incoming transactions; most users move to one of the monthly plans quickly.

Compared to traditional banks, ANNA is fundamentally different in its approach. Lloyds and NatWest are full-service banks with lending products, overdrafts, and trade finance; ANNA is a payment account with accounting tools bolted on. ANNA does not offer overdrafts, loans, or credit facilities; if your business needs to borrow money, you would need to arrange that separately elsewhere. ANNA also does not offer the physical branch network or phone support that traditional banks provide; all interaction happens through the app. The safeguarding model is also different; ANNA holds your money separately, but it is not FSCS protected like money at a bank. For a very small freelancer or a startup limited company that needs banking, invoicing, and basic tax filing in one app and is comfortable managing everything digitally, ANNA removes friction. For a business that needs to borrow money, speak to someone on the phone, or values FSCS deposit protection, traditional banks are a better fit.

ANNA suits sole traders and limited company directors who operate digitally-first and do not need access to credit or lending. If you are a freelancer managing your own invoicing and tax filings, ANNA consolidates those tasks into one app and charges transparently for it. If you are a director of a small limited company where the +Taxes add-on replaces the cost of an accountant, the value proposition is compelling; you save accounting fees and get real-time visibility into your tax position. ANNA is also well-suited to small teams managing expenses; the ability to issue expense cards to colleagues and have all spending feed into one reconciled account reduces administrative overhead. The digital-only model means you do not waste time visiting branches or managing paper statements. ANNA is less suitable for businesses that need to take on debt, manage complex trade finance, or value speaking to a human advisor about business finances.

ANNA Money offers UK businesses a lean, integrated alternative to the traditional bank plus accounting software stack. The regulatory model is different (safeguarded, not FSCS protected), the feature set is narrower (payment account plus invoicing and tax, not lending and overdrafts), and the experience is entirely app-based. For small, digitally-native businesses that want simplicity and transparency, ANNA delivers that efficiently.