Anna

What Anna is, in 2026

Anna Money is a UK SMB neobank built for freelancers, sole traders, and small limited companies — particularly creative professionals, contractors, and side-hustle solopreneurs. Founded 2017; approximately 100,000 UK business accounts as of 2026. Operating entity is Absolute All Now Available Ltd, headquartered in London, FCA-authorised as an Electronic Money Institution.

Product surface: GBP business current account with sort code + account number (provided via partner-bank infrastructure), Mastercard business debit + virtual cards, built-in invoicing with VAT handling, auto-categorisation + receipt OCR, HMRC tax tools (Making Tax Digital for VAT + Self Assessment for sole traders), and AI-powered support chatbot branded as "Anna". International payments route via Wise partnership integration.

FCA EMI, not a UK chartered bank. Customer funds safeguarded, NOT FSCS-protected. Same structural posture as Tide, with different brand voice and target audience.

At a glance

Who Anna is for: UK freelancers, sole traders, creative professionals, contractors, and small limited companies — particularly operators who value the mobile-first design-led UX over the broader feature surface of Tide or the chartered-bank features of Starling Business. The structural fit is any UK solopreneur or small business that prioritises mobile UX and integrated HMRC tax tooling over the broadest accountant-integration set.

Who to avoid Anna for: UK SMBs needing FSCS deposit cover above £85K (Starling Business or NatWest Business are the structural alternatives — both chartered banks with FSCS); operators with material non-GBP receivables (Wise Business is the structural multi-currency layer); businesses requiring API access for engineering-led finance automation (Anna does not ship a developer API as of 2026); and operators wanting the largest UK SMB-neobank customer base for community / shared-knowledge benefits (Tide at ~600K accounts is materially larger).

Safety in one sentence: Absolute All Now Available Ltd is FCA-authorised as an EMI; customer funds are safeguarded under E-Money Regulations 2011 (segregated at credit institutions, ring-fenced from Anna's balance sheet) and are NOT covered by FSCS deposit insurance.

Bank structure & EMI safeguarding

Anna Money is the trading name of Absolute All Now Available Ltd, FCA-authorised as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) under the UK E-Money Regulations 2011. It is not a UK chartered bank and does not hold a PRA banking licence. The FCA EMI regulatory framework authorises Anna to issue electronic money and operate payment services, but NOT to take deposits in the legal sense or lend customer funds.

The customer-protection regime under EMI rules is safeguarding, not deposit insurance. Customer funds are held in segregated accounts at credit institutions — ring-fenced from Anna's own balance sheet — and titled in customer name (or in an FBO custodial arrangement). In an Anna insolvency, the safeguarded balances would be returned to customers under FCA-supervised resolution. This is materially different from FSCS deposit insurance, which applies to PRA-licensed UK banks and provides cover up to £85,000 per depositor per institution with a statutory payout window (typically 7 working days).

The contrast with Starling Business matters because Starling Business is the structural alternative for UK SMBs needing FSCS cover. Starling Bank Ltd is a PRA-licensed UK bank — customer deposits at Starling Business are FSCS-protected up to £85K per depositor. Anna is an FCA-licensed EMI — customer funds are safeguarded, not FSCS-insured. For UK SMBs above the £85K balance threshold, this is the deciding structural factor. For UK SMBs comfortably below £85K, Anna's pricing and mobile UX often outweigh the FSCS gap.

The sort-code + account-number infrastructure is provided via partner-bank arrangements; Mastercard business debit is issued under Mastercard network sponsorship. The legal entity (Absolute All Now Available Ltd) is registered with Companies House in the UK; FCA register entry is verifiable at register.fca.org.uk under "Anna" or the full legal name.

The fee schedule

The pricing inflection is around the 3-transfer-per-month mark. Below that, Pay-As-You-Go is cheaper than Pro despite the per-transfer fees. Above 3 monthly transfers, Pro at £14.90/mo becomes cost-effective and the HMRC tax tools are structurally valuable for sole-trader / freelance W-8 contractors filing Self Assessment annually. Business at £19.90/mo is the structural fit once the company has 2+ users requiring access (a director plus a bookkeeper, for example).

Hands-on notes

Onboarding for a UK sole trader clears same-day in the typical case: UTR (Unique Taxpayer Reference) or proof of self-employment, national ID (passport or driving licence), and selfie liveness verification. UK limited companies require Companies House registration number + director ID + beneficial-ownership disclosure. The mobile-first onboarding flow is one of Anna's structural strengths — the equivalent flow at a chartered UK bank typically takes 3-7 business days.

The product UX is the differentiator. Anna positions itself with a playful brand voice (the AI chatbot named "Anna" is the visible expression) and design-led mobile-first interactions. For creative professionals and freelance contractors operating on mobile devices most of the time, the UX advantage is structural; for finance-team-led established SMBs, the equivalent experience at Tide is more straightforward and the broader feature set wins.

The HMRC tax tools are the structural strength most reviews under-cover. Anna's Making Tax Digital for VAT integration handles VAT-quarter filing for VAT-registered SMBs and sole traders. The Self Assessment guidance for sole traders includes income / expense categorisation aligned with HMRC categories, dividend / salary split calculation for director-shareholder Ltd companies, and quarterly estimated-tax setting-aside recommendations. For UK freelance W-8 contractors filing their first Self Assessment, the integrated guidance materially reduces the friction.

Friction points: GBP-only operating account — for material non-GBP flows, stack Wise Business alongside. No native API for engineering-led founders building finance automation. Customer support is chat + email; the AI chatbot handles first-line queries with variable accuracy depending on query complexity. Per-transfer fees on Pay-As-You-Go add up faster than the marketing suggests; double-check your monthly transfer count before defaulting to PAYG.

Plan & tier comparison

Caveats

FCA EMI — funds safeguarded, NOT FSCS-protected. The structural trade-off versus a chartered UK bank like Starling Business is meaningful for operators above the £85K balance threshold. For UK SMBs needing FSCS cover, evaluate Starling Business or NatWest Business as the structural alternative.

GBP-only operating account. No native multi-currency holdings. For material non-GBP receivables or vendor payments, stack Wise Business or a corresponding-bank relationship alongside.

No API for engineering-led founders. Anna does not ship a developer API as of 2026. For UK SMB founders building automated finance workflows, Mercury (US) or Qonto (EU) offer API surfaces that Anna does not match; Tide also has limited API access.

UK-only. Anna does not serve EU or international SMB customers post-Brexit. EU SMBs evaluate Qonto / Finom / Revolut Business; international SMBs evaluate the regional alternatives.

Per-transfer fees on Pay-As-You-Go compound at moderate volume. The math favours Pro at £14.90/mo for any operator running more than 3 monthly transfers; verify your actual transfer count before defaulting to the cheaper tier.

Anna vs. Tide vs. Starling Business

Anna vs. Tide. Both are FCA-authorised EMIs serving UK SMBs and freelancers; both safeguard customer funds without FSCS cover. The structural distinction is brand voice and target audience. Tide has the largest UK SMB neobank customer base (~600K business members) and positions itself as the straightforward UK business default with HMRC tax tools and the deepest UK-accountant integration set (Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, FreeAgent). Anna positions itself as the design-led, freelancer-and-creative-professional app with a more playful brand voice and mobile-first UX. For creative professionals, contractors, and side-hustle solopreneurs, Anna often fits better; for established UK SMBs and Ltd companies wanting the broadest accountant-integration set, Tide.

Anna vs. Starling Business. Starling Bank is a PRA-licensed UK chartered bank — customer deposits at Starling Business are FSCS-protected up to £85K per depositor. Anna is an FCA EMI — funds safeguarded, not FSCS-insured. For UK SMBs above £85K balance who need FSCS deposit cover, Starling Business is the structural fit. For UK SMBs comfortably below £85K who prioritise the design-led UX and integrated HMRC tax tools, Anna. Many UK SMBs end up running both — Starling Business for the deposit-insured operating cash leg, Anna for the freelance / side-hustle entity with simpler tax tooling needs.

FAQ

Is Anna Money a bank?

No. FCA-authorised EMI, not a UK chartered bank. Customer funds safeguarded under E-Money Regulations 2011, NOT FSCS-protected.

Are Anna Money balances FSCS-protected?

No. FSCS applies to PRA-licensed banks only. For FSCS cover on UK SMB operating cash, evaluate Starling Business or NatWest Business.

How does Anna compare with Tide?

Both are FCA EMIs. Tide is larger (~600K vs ~100K accounts) with broader accountant integration. Anna has design-led UX targeting creative professionals.

What is Anna's pricing structure?

Pay-As-You-Go (per-transfer fees), Pro at £14.90/mo (free transfers + HMRC tools), Business at £19.90/mo (Pro + corporate + multi-user). Pro is the structural fit for most operators above 3 monthly transfers.

Does Anna support international payments?

GBP-only operating account; international transfers via Wise partnership integration. For material non-GBP flows, stack Wise Business alongside.

Can a sole trader open an Anna account?

Yes — UTR + national ID + selfie verification clears same-day in most cases. HMRC Self Assessment guidance on Pro and Business tiers is the structural strength for sole-trader / freelance W-8 contractors.

Who Anna is for

Use Anna if you are a UK freelancer, sole trader, creative professional, contractor, or small Ltd company that values mobile-first design-led UX and integrated HMRC tax tooling. The structural fit is any UK solopreneur prioritising the brand voice and UX over the broader feature surface of Tide or the FSCS-protected chartered-bank features of Starling Business.

Use Tide if you want the largest UK SMB neobank customer base with the broadest accountant integration set. Use Starling Business if you need FSCS deposit cover above the £85K balance threshold. Use Wise Business alongside if you have material non-GBP receivables. Use a chartered UK bank (Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest) if you need the full chartered-bank product surface — mortgages, lending lines, treasury management — that no UK SMB neobank covers as of 2026.

References

Primary-source list, with capture date 2026-05-18. Anna's pricing, licence scope, and feature set shift across quarters; verify against the source URLs at decision time.

• Anna Money — Legal & terms
• Anna Money — Pricing & plans
• FCA — Register of EMI licensees
• FCA — E-Money Regulations 2011 overview
• HMRC — Making Tax Digital for VAT
• HMRC — Self Assessment for sole traders
• FSCS — Deposit insurance scheme (NOT applicable to EMIs)
• Companies House — UK company register
• Anna Money — Press & funding announcements
• Mastercard — Network operating rules (issuer disclosure)
• Trustpilot — Anna Money reviews
• BIS — UK FCA safeguarding requirements

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