About ANNA Money
ANNA Money was formed in 2017. The founders are individuals with backgrounds ranging from customer service, finance, and Admin. They saw a gap in the provision of services to small businesses which are understaffed.
Being a relatively new startup, ANNA money relies on investor funding. Through series A funding, the company raised £17.5M in May 2020.
The total amount of funding so far is £36.5M after four funding rounds. The leading investors behind this startup are Kinetik, ABH Holding SA, and Houghton Lane.
Small businesses seem to love ANNA Money. From the reviews we saw online, most users attest to the excellent products and services offered by the company. For example, on Trustpilot, there are rave reviews about the products. Out of 1181 reviews, 83% rate the services as excellent.
Since its inception, ANNA money has won nominations to several financial awards. In this article, we review how the company holds up regarding international money transfers.
Can I use ANNA Money for international bank transfers?
ANNA Money does facilitate international transfers. You can send and receive foreign currency through the app. However, ANNA still cautions that this product is still in beta testing.
You can only make transfers with three currencies: USD, Euros, and GBP sterling. This is done in partnership with Currencycloud. The collaboration ensures that ANNA account holders can remit money anywhere Currencycloud has a presence.
Currencycloud is a fintech company that offers an API as its main product. Other companies can integrate to the API, which enables them to move the money around.
Additionally, ANNA Money has a partnership with Payoneer for international payments. As a result, clients can securely receive transfers in USD and EUR. This union is especially beneficial to freelancers.
Apart from Payoneer, ANNA facilitates inbound remittances via SWIFT and SEPA. Again, foreign currencies will be converted to GBP automatically.
How long do transfers take with ANNA Money?
ANNA Money specifies that transfers may take up to 5 days before they reflect on the beneficiary’s account. However, this may take longer depending on the intermediary banks involved.
There are no timelines for how long Payoneer will take to transfer money to your ANNA account.
In case of urgent international transfers, clients in the UK can use renowned companies like XE and Paysend, which take less than 2 hours to actualize the transfer.
Are there transfer limits?
ANNA account holders can set the limit of transferable amounts from their accounts. This limit also applies to international transfers. However, for higher amounts, the request has to be checked by the compliance team.
For businesses that need high transaction limits, XE does not cap amounts sent. Some like Paysend may require additional verification documents to complete the transfer.
Can I use ANNA Money debit card when travelling abroad?
ANNA debit cards are useful when you travel abroad. The card can be used to make payments globally. In addition, ANNA issues Mastercard debit cards. Businesses can get the card five days after opening the account.
ANNA Money Exchange rates and fees
Exchange Rates: If transfers are not in the same currencies, ANNA account holders get midmarket rates. These are live rates that are updated continuously to reflect the currency market movement. The changes to reference rates will apply immediately to a transaction.
However, ANNA Money does charge a flat markup rate of 0.5% for all currency conversions.
For inbound transactions, customers can only receive GBP or any other supported currencies. For unsupported currencies, conversion rates will be converted to GBP automatically using Currencycloud. The transaction will then be deposited into your ANNA account.
Fees: For outbound transfers, customers may be required to pay interbank charges. These are the charges for the banks involved in transmitting the transfer request. If you wish to send transactions for free, check out some of the leading remittance companies in the UK.
Additional costs: Customers are charged per payment if they exceed the free allowances provided.
How do ANNA Money transfer fees compare to using a money transfer provider?
For outbound transfers, the fees are dependant on the intermediary bank, which supports the transfer request. Therefore, it is challenging to pinpoint the exact fee a customer will pay. In addition, different corridors will demand separate charges.
On the flip side, seasoned money remittance companies in the UK charge little to no fees for international transfers. Companies like World remit will offer you free transactions for a couple of transfers. Others like XE do not levy any tariffs.
ANNA Money pros and cons
ANNA has put considerable effort into ensuring its client base enjoys international money transfers. However, like all new startups, there are still some glaring challenges. Despite that, the company has done a commendable job in providing the service. Some of the merits and demerits we realized include:
Pros
Cons
ANNA Money Additional Products
Some of the products on offer by ANNA Money include:
Business account
Invoicing software
Tax services
Receipt scanner
Summary
ANNA Money offers services on an app backed by a fully-fledged debit card. Since its inception, the startup has grown in leaps and bounds, capturing the underserved startups, small businesses, and freelancers.
Apart from its core services like tax services, the company also facilitates international remittances in collaboration with other companies.
In terms of competition, ANNA faces an uphill task to upset the more established money transfer providers. However, with ANNA Money launching new products and services frequently, we will update you if there are any changes to their international remittance strategy.
