The latest data from the fintech’s Transfer Index showed from January 2023 to the end of March this year, the average time for the completion of a transfer fell from 14 to 12.3 calendar days. In addition, the time taken for simple transfers, where the provider has full control over the process, also improved by 16.7% and fell from 12 to ten calendar days over the same period.

The index’s data is for the transfers which were completed by Origo’s Transfer Service and showed nearly 1.2 million transfers were completed over the period and accounted for approximately 95% of all the defined contribution pension transfers in the UK market.

The index is published quarterly and tracks the transfer times of 30 voluntary participants, who accounted for 92% of the pension transfer carried out through the Origo Transfer Service.

Origo chief executive Anthony Rafferty said: “It is encouraging to see the continued improvement in transfer times over the past 15 months, which we feel reflects a growing movement within the industry to improve the consumer experience. This is particularly pleasing ahead of the pensions dashboard staging dates, and demonstrates how technology can help, by automating and digitalising the transfer process and making it trackable.

“We are seeing a general move within the industry to deliver better performance, with providers looking at where and how they can improve their products and in particular their service, to ensure they present the best option for consumers in where to save.”

Rafferty continued: “We are seeing this not just in transfers through the well-established Origo Transfer Service, but also in the growing number of providers signing to Unipass Letter of Authority, now at 16 and growing, as well as take up of the Origo Integration Hub, with over 100 connections made between companies across a range of services.

“There is a realisation that service is being measured at both the front end, when onboarding business, and also within the back-office and when business is moving away to another provider. Both are affecting the brand and reputation of providers, and we believe will increasingly affect where business is placed in the future. All of which we see as very positive for the industry.”