FF News Logo
Friday, February 07, 2025
FKV2483 - FinovateEurope - FFNews banner - 728x90

ANNA launches debit card that miaows

ANNA Money has today announced its latest product innovation – a debit card that miaows when you spend money. Designed to help business owners keep on top of their spending, the ANNA app will emit a miaow every time the contactless debit card is used from today.

The miaowing card is the latest innovation from ANNA, which fuses artificial intelligence with human insights, and was inspired by a recent study showing that 90% of small business failures can be attributed to cash flow problems.

The feature was crafted by further insight from design experts at ANNA and animal psychologist, Ellena Hinson, who suggests small business owners look to cats for tips on managing their finances – “Business owners can learn a lot from cat communication. Communicating with our clients needs to be simple and professional, yet timely and effective. Most importantly, business owners need to; carry some charisma like our trusted felines when getting the job done so customers warm to us straight away. ”

ANNA Money has also released a ‘behind the scenes’ film revealing the lengths they went to in order to capture the perfect ‘miaow’ for their app. The video (available in 30 second and three minute edits here) stars BBC3 comedian Luke McQueen as a fictional member of the ANNA marketing team, interviewing dozens of cats for the role of the ANNA miaow.

Stills from ANNA’s ‘Behind the Scenes’ film documenting how they captured the perfect miaow [photography: Tim Bowditch]

Discussing the new feature, and why business owners should look to cats for career advice, experienced pet behaviour therapist and lecturer Ellena Hinson comments: “Miaowing is the perfect form of communication – it’s short, sharp but not intrusive, and alerts us to a cat’s needs immediately. Less jarring than a dog’s bark, but loud and direct enough to do the job, a miaow is the perfect sound for business owners looking to emulate a cat’s communication skills. ”

Daljit Singh, Chief Design Officer at ANNA Money comments:

“Our miaowing debit cards are a light-hearted addition to our existing financial services for small businesses, but they’re rooted in a serious issue. The miaow notification is designed to be fun – we want business owners to enjoy what they do, even if it involves spending their hard earned money. It will help business owners keep track of what and when they’re spending, with a cheeky reminder every time they make a purchase. A recent survey found that 90% of small business failures are down to cash flow issues, so we’re doing all we can at ANNA to help business owners keep on top of their incomings and outgoings. We even have plans to release our own ‘lucky cat’ for businesses, which will connect to the ANNA platform and purr loudly whenever an invoice is paid in. Innovation in card design isn’t new in the world of challenger banks, but we think our miaowing card is probably both the most fun, and useful quirky card out there at the moment.

Full comment from Ellena Hinson, ABTC Registered Clinical Animal Behaviourist, Full Member of the APBC, College & University Lecturer:

As business owners, we’re familiar with the idea of working all hours. We’re so busy keeping our customers happy there’s little time for anything else, least of all relaxing or taking care of our own business’ needs. But what if we could be more like cats? This would help us cut down on admin and unnecessary tasks.

Most of a cat’s time is spent relaxing, sunbathing and caring for themselves, and yet their waking hours are about getting what they want, when they want it with ruthless efficiency. They’re pretty elegant with all of this too, and it’s all down to how they communicate with their humans.

Cats form special relationships brilliantly well, and maintain these bonds with minimal effort. It might be a furry head butt, a gentle purr or a cuddle on the sofa, but each interaction is designed to maximise affection in pursuit of what they want. They’re very good at wrapping their humans around their paws.

Business owners can learn a lot from cat communication. Communicating with our clients needs to be simple and professional, yet timely and effective. Most importantly, business owners need to; carry some charisma like our trusted felines when getting the job done so customers warm to us straight away.

“If you’re a business owner, you could do a lot worse than paying attention to the three communication principles of cats. If you’re keen to get what you want while keeping client relationships strong, be clear, assertive and tactile:

Clear – always ask for what you want, in a polite but firm manner

Assertive – don’t shy away from your ambitions but be tactful in your approach

Tactile – check in often with simple checks, keep communication positive and ensure you’re offering advice or solutions with each contact

Miaowing is the perfect form of communication – it’s short, sharp but not intrusive, and alerts us to a cat’s needs immediately. Less jarring than a dog’s bark, but loud and direct enough to do the job, a miaow is the perfect sound for business owners looking to emulate a cat’s communication skills.

It’s all down to leaving a memorable mark in your own way. A quick call to a client to see how they’re getting on (and nudging them on an overdue invoice) can work wonders, just like a quick paw tap from a cat. Doing this with charisma will encourage your clients to interact with you because they want to speak to you, not because they need your services.

  1. Ant International Appoints Chief Innovation Officer to Spearhead AI-Driven Digitalisation Strategy with New Product, Technology and Innovation Framework Read more
  2. Auquan Launches Industry’s First AI Agent for Financial Services Sustainability Teams Read more
  3. Banking Personalisation Provider Moneythor Launches in Latin America Read more
  4. Bestow Strengthens Leadership Team with Key Appointments Read more
  5. MindBridge Announces Strategic Partnership With Databricks to Deliver Enhanced Financial Insights Read more
FKV2483 - FinovateEurope - FFNews banner - 300x300