Fintech firm Altus this week claimed the first ‘fully electronic’ pension transfer had been carried out in five days.

The company said the milestone in pension transfers, where weeks or months are the norm, saw a fully electronic pension transfer between Ascentric and Nucleus.

Details of the pension wrapper and all the assets were moved between the two platforms and the units re-registered with multiple fund managers in five days with no need for any ‘wet’ signatures or paper, said Altus.

Altus says that electronic SIPP transfers have been happening at speed for some time between a small group of early adopters of the TeX standards.

The special feature of this transfer was that it was believed to be the first to take place using two different systems – Altus and Origo.

Andrew Smith, chief technical officer at Nucleus, said: “Getting systems to talk to one another is key for reducing transfer times, so it’s great that this is now a reality.

“This should make advisers more confident about transferring units between platforms, as platform to platform electronic connectivity will reduce transfer times and reduce the likelihood of errors. We’re delighted Altus and Origo have worked together within TeX to make this happen.”

Kevin Okell, managing director at Altus, said: “We have long been firm believers that full collaboration between technology vendors could ensure better outcomes for financial services customers, and we are absolutely delighted to see such great results. 

“But the hard work doesn’t stop there, as the industry needs to get ready for conversions, following the FCA’s policy statement issued on Friday.”

Bath-based Altus was founded in 2005 and works with over 100 clients in the investment, pensions, general insurance and wealth management sectors. It employs 70 people.