Connor Campbell
Duncan Ferris
Hannah NemethMany or all of the products and brands we promote and feature including our ‘Partner Spotlights’ are from our partners who compensate us. However, this does not influence our editorial opinion found in articles, reviews and our ‘Best’ tables. Our opinion is our own. Read more on our methodology here.
ANNA business accounts offer sole traders and small business owners a way to manage their finances online. These accounts offer many helpful tools that automate much of the admin associated with the smooth day-to-day running of a business, such as tax return reminders and customised invoices.
Its ‘pay as you go’ account offers a range of features useful to those just starting out, without costly monthly fees and commitments. There is also the option to upgrade to paid accounts with more functionality as and when your business requires.
ANNA Money – Pay As You Go
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Monthly FeeFree
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UK Card Purchase FeesFree
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UK Bank Transfer Fees20p
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OfferTax Calculation & Filing from £3 p/mfor 3 months. £24 p/m thereafter. Calculate and file your taxes automatically. Best for limited companies
- Must be a Sole Trader, Director of a Limited Company (and listed on Companies House), or a Partner in a Limited Liability Partnership
- Business must be located within the UK and you also need to have a UK residential address
- Not available to charities
Learn more about how we bring you our review.
Key features
- Free and paid accountsANNA offers the choice between a free ‘pay as you go’ account, and paid monthly accounts
- 24/7 customer serviceANNA offers 24/7 customer service through its mobile app
- Sole traders, limited companies and LLPsANNA business accounts are currently available to sole traders, directors of limited companies and limited liability partnerships
- Tax remindersANNA will send you tax reminders and estimations, so you can keep on top of your accounts
ANNA business account pros & cons
Pros
- ANNA’s ‘Pay as you go’ business current account has no monthly fee.
- You can open an ANNA business account in as little as three minutes.
- ANNA offers 24/7 customer support through its mobile app.
- ANNA’s mobile app is available on Android and iOS.
- ANNA offers other products, such as credit facilities and administrative tools.
Cons
- Since ANNA Money is an e-money account, and not a bank account, your money is not protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
- ANNA Money does not accept cheques.
- At £14.90 a month, ANNA’s cheapest paid account is more expensive than many competitors.
The pros and cons featured here are chosen by us based on a combination of our expert, research-based opinions and an exclusive survey of UK business owners and decision makers. The survey was conducted on behalf of NerdWallet UK in December 2022 to identify the business bank account features that people feel are most important. They are unlikely to be the only product features and restrictions that you should consider. Pros and cons are subjective and you should align them to your own personal and business circumstances. Information was correct at the time of publication but may have changed since.
ANNA business account full review
Founded in 2017, ANNA (or Absolutely No Nonsense Admin) offers three types of business current account, with online-only access.
Yet ANNA is not a bank, but an e-money service. This means that any money held with ANNA is not protected under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), unlike some other digital providers and high street banks. However, under Electronic Money Regulations, ANNA must keep customers’ money in a separate bank account to its own funds and cannot use it to fund or invest in projects.
ANNA aims to appeal to sole traders and small limited companies, and offers a maximum account balance of £10 million.
The only difference between ANNA’s free and paid accounts is the cost per transaction. Features-wise, they are the same and include:
- the ability to create and send invoices
- real-time account access for your accountant
- software integration with Xero
- tax reminders and estimations as you earn
- free direct debits
- receipt scanning
Pay as you go
ANNA’s ‘Pay as you go’ account comes with no monthly fee. Instead, you just pay for what you use, making it suitable for businesses that only need to make infrequent use of their business bank account. While card payments in any country are free, you will pay a transaction fee per local bank transfer, international payment, ATM withdrawal, and cash deposit.
Business
ANNA’s ‘Business’ account costs £14.90 a month, or £149 if billed annually. Apart from the monthly cost, the main difference between ‘Business’ and ‘Pay as you go’ is that you get free allowances for certain transactions, such as local transfers, ATM withdrawals and international payments, per month. Once these have been exhausted, you will then pay a transaction fee.
Big Business
‘Big Business’ costs £49.90 a month, or £499 annually. This account has unlimited ‘free’ local transfers, ATM withdrawal, cash deposits, personal payment links and additional debit cards. However, ANNA does note that some restrictions will still apply, and that it may be possible to create a bespoke plan for your organisation. This means it is suited to businesses with high volumes of everyday banking transactions.
ANNA business account features: at a glance
| Pay as you go | Business | Big Business | |
| Monthly fee | Free | £14.90 a month | £49.90 a month |
| Transaction fees | Yes (local transfers, ATM withdrawals, paying cash in, international payments) | Yes (but with free allowances per month) | Yes (free local transfers, ATM withdrawals and paying cash in, but fifth monthly international payment onwards costs £5) |
| Account management | Via a mobile app | Via a mobile app | Via a mobile app |
| FSCS protection | No | No | No |
| Set-up time | Same day | Same day | Same day |
| Cash deposits | Yes (1% per transaction) | Yes (up to £300 per month, then 1% fee applies) | Yes (unlimited, although some restrictions still apply) |
| Cheque deposits | No | No | No |
| Access to other banking services | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| International payments | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Customer service | 24/7 in-app support Email: [email protected] | 24/7 in-app support Email: [email protected] | 24/7 in-app support Email: [email protected] |
| Multiple user access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Create and send invoices | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Integration with accounting software tools | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Where ANNA business account stands out
- Free account features: With ANNA’s free ‘Pay as you go’ account, you still have access to the same features as the ‘Business’ and ‘Big Business’ accounts. You just pay for the transactions you make.
- Quick set-up: ANNA says you can set up your business account and receive your sort code in as little as three minutes. ANNA claims that 100% of eligible businesses, willing to provide additional information when requested, opened their account on the same day as their application.
- 24/7 customer support: Through its mobile app, ANNA offers 24/7 customer support from its Cardiff-based team.
- Sole traders, limited companies and LLPs: Unlike some business accounts, limited liability partnerships can apply, as well as sole traders and limited companies.
- FastTrack to Credit: With ANNA’s FastTrack to Credit, you may be able to improve your credit score by paying £9 a month for three months and ensuring that all your business sales go through your ANNA account. After that three-month period, you may be able to access credit worth 30% of your monthly sales income.
Where ANNA business account falls short
- FSCS protection: Since ANNA is an e-money business account, and not a fully-fledged bank, your deposits are not protected under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
- No branch access: ANNA is an online-only service, meaning you won’t be able to pop to your local branch to make transactions or ask questions.
- Cash and cheques: You cannot pay cheques directly into your ANNA business account. And while you now can make cash deposits at PayPoint locations, this comes with a fee for the ‘Pay as you go’ account.
- Charity accounts: ANNA currently doesn’t offer business accounts to charities.
ANNA business account customer reviews
ANNA Money’s customers have left reviews on a range of sites. Generally, these reviews are positive.
- App Store: 4.5 out of 5, based on over 800 reviews
- Google Play: 4.4 out of 5, based on over 1,300 reviews
- Trustpilot: 4.6 out of 5, based on over 2,600 reviews
This information is correct as of 2 February 2024.
ANNA business account eligibility
If you want to open an ANNA business account, you will need to:
- be a sole trader, director of a limited company listed on Companies House, or a partner in an limited liability partnership (LLP)
- run a business located in the UK
- have a residential address based in the UK
How to apply for a ANNA business account
If you want to apply for an ANNA Money business account, you should follow these steps:
- Download the ANNA mobile app.
- Verify your identity using your driving licence or passport. If you don’t have these forms of ID, you can take a recent photo of yourself to your bank, solicitor or accountant so that they can verify your identity.
- Verify your address using a utility bill, council tax bill, or bank statement from the last three months.
- Submit your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) if you are a sole trader, or your company registration number if you are opening a bank account for a limited company, and answer ANNA’s Know Your Business (KYB) questions. You may need to provide business documentation, such as your website, utility bills or lease agreements, social media profiles, or supplier invoices and contracts.
- Once your details have been checked and registered by ANNA, you will be able to start using your business account. You will receive your debit card in roughly five working days of acceptance.
Review methodology
At NerdWallet UK, we base our reviews and our ‘Best’ pages on the results of surveys we undertook about what was important to people who use these products. This allows us to look at products impartially of any commercial arrangements we have and fairly rate the products on the same set of criteria.
Best means our ‘Best’ and is based only on what products we have aligned to our surveys, which form the basis of our reviews and ratings. This means that there will be other products on the market that we have not included in our ‘Best’ pages. Best does not mean it’s best for you, nor does it mean the ‘cheapest’.
Our reviews may display lenders’ rates. This additional information has not been included in our evaluations but is still very important when choosing a product. Rates offered can depend on circumstances, amount and term. Always check details before proceeding with any financial product.
Product details reflect the information that was available at that time but may have changed since. We strive to give you a review on as many products as possible, but there will be products not included on the market. The review is our opinion, but it does not constitute advice, recommendation or suitability for your financial circumstances.
You can view our full review methodology here.
