What types of payment can I make with ANNA?
There are lots of ways that you can make and accept payments from your ANNA account. Your choice of method will almost certainly depend on the type of business you run; a graphic design company will probably use different payment methods to a food truck. Here’s a guide to all the types of payment ANNA supports – so you can pay and get paid quickly, easily and securely.
Card payments
All ANNA customers receive a Mastercard business card which can be used via Chip and PIN, and contactless. We also have virtual cards in the app that customers can use straight away, before their physical card first arrives in the post.
Cards can be used in-store, online and for cash machine withdrawals. ANNA cards can also be used overseas.
ANNA cards can be added to GooglePay and ApplePay; we’ll take a close look at these two methods now.
Apple Pay
Apple Pay allows you to make instant, in-store payments using your iPhone or another Apple Pay-enabled device wherever you see these symbols:
You don’t need your physical ANNA card to make Apple Pay payments – you just need to set up your ANNA card in the Wallet app. Apple Pay gives you all the benefits of contactless payments, but it’s even safer because your card number isn’t stored on your iPhone or iPad, or shared with the person or company you’re paying.
Read our guide to setting up Apple Pay
Google Pay
Google Pay is the simple way to make instant contactless payments and online or in-app payments from Android and compatible devices, wherever you see this symbol:
You don’t need to carry around your ANNA card to make Google Pay payments, you just need to add your ANNA card to your Google Pay wallet. Your ANNA account details are only ever stored on your Android device and when you’re paying online and Google Pay encrypts the payment data so it stays safe in transit.
Get our guide to setting up Google Pay
Bank transfers
Local UK bank transfers
Faster Payments
Faster Payments is a way to send money electronically in the UK. It’s a real-time payment service that allows individuals and businesses to send electronic payments almost instantly, 24/7, including weekends and bank holidays. Introduced in 2008, the system is designed to move funds between bank accounts in the UK in a matter of seconds. However, there are occasions when payments can take until the end of the next working day to be delivered and credited to your account.
Direct Debits
Direct Debits are a payment method that allows organizations (such as businesses, charities, or government bodies) to collect money directly from a customer's bank account. Direct Debits are mostly used for recurring payments, like utility bills or rent payments.
ANNA supports Direct Debits and suppliers can charge ANNA customers using Direct Debits. However we don’t offer our customers an option to collect Direct Debits from their own clients, so it’s not possible to apply for your own SUN (Service User Number) with ANNA to collect Direct Debits.
BACS
BACS payments are bank-to-bank transfers between two UK accounts. BACS payments take 3 working days to clear, so if someone sends you a payment on Friday (day 1) it will clear on Tuesday (day 3). ANNA customers can receive BACS payments, but not send them.
CHAPS
CHAPS (Clearing House Automated Payment System) are guaranteed same-day payments with no maximum limit – as long as payment instructions are received by a specific time, which is determined by the individual bank. ANNA now supports CHAPS payments, which will allow our customers to seamlessly accept payments from institutions that use CHAPS rather than Faster Payments. Note: at the moment ANNA customers can’t make CHAPS payments, although they can accept them.
International and FX payments
SWIFT
SWIFT payments are international money transfers made through the SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) network. SWIFT is a global messaging network that banks and financial institutions use to securely send and receive payment instructions across borders. ANNA allows the sending and receiving of SWIFT payments but we don’t support some countries or currencies, so it’s worth checking on our website, particularly before trying to accept a SWIFT payment.
SEPA
SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) is a European Union initiative that simplifies payments in Euros across participating countries. ANNA allows the sending and receiving of SEPA payments, but be aware that only a limited number of countries support this system. You can see a list of participating countries here.
Paying cash in
We know that lots of UK businesses still use cash and the good news is that ANNA customers can pay cash into their accounts at over 28,000 PayPoint retailers across the UK.