ANNA, the Fintech startup that has small and medium businesses firmly in its sights has raised £17.5/$21M of investment in its latest round of funding. The mobile-centric banking and tax business has already managed to garner 20,000 customers in the UK and now has ambitious plans to take the ANNA brand into Europe. At the moment only UK residents are eligible for an ANNA account.
The money is coming from one single investor, ABHH Group, which owns Alfa Bank in Russia and the Netherlands-based Amsterdam Trade Bank along with other businesses in Eastern Europe. However, ANNA will retain its standalone status even though ABHH will have a majority stake in the venture.
In a blog post on the ANNA website, the ambitious London-based startup venture founded in 2017 and which launched in the UK in September of 2018 outlined its plans for expansion following the cash injection.
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Fuss-free banking
ANNA was quick to reassure existing customers that it was very much business as usual, stating: ‘In the short term very little will change for our customers, and you’ll notice no difference to the service you receive. Our customer support is still based in Cardiff and we’re still here to answer your questions and help with your business admin 24/7 – and there’s no plan to ever change this.
In the longer term, the partnership with ABHH will give us the financial and operational backing to make our service much more advanced and robust, and we think you’ll enjoy the benefits of this in the months and years ahead.’
ANNA has been developing its growing range of products and services that include business bank accounts, invoicing software and small business accounting tools.
Once users have signed up for one of four different tiers, depending on the size of their businesses and requirements, they can make use of an app, card and business account combination that has been tailored specifically towards small businesses and startups. ANNA also offers the ability to work with a live accountant come tax filing time.
Adding to its appeal for SMBs is its digital assistant functionality that can be used to tackle financial admin for hard-pressed small business owners and freelancers with limited resources at their disposal, such as sending invoices and chasing payments.
ANNA’s fuss-free philosophy aims to get you a business current account in less than 10 minutes, and a debit card out to you within 5 working days. The four-tiered account offerings range from a zero outlay basic option for small businesses with monthly income under £500 and a maximum balance of £5,000, through to a £19.90 a month package for larger businesses with a monthly income between £20,000 and £500,000.
Despite the devastating economic fallout of Covid-19 the Fintech startup maintains that it has so far avoided too many negative effects caused by the pandemic due to its lean digital business ethos, which inspired its name: ANNA stands for ‘Absolutely No Nonsense Admin’.
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