Octopus Energy has successfully completed one of the largest Direct Debit migrations in UK history, moving 5.5 million customer mandates and £12billion in payments to fintech platform GoCardless.
The migration is a significant operational milestone for the energy supplier, designed to streamline payment processes and improve speed for its 11 million global customers. The primary benefit for consumers is a drastic reduction in refund times.
Faster refunds for millions
Historically, energy refunds could take up to five working days to process. Following the migration to GoCardless’ technology, Octopus Energy customers can now receive refunds in their bank accounts in as little as one to two days—a timeframe the company claims is faster than any other major supplier.
The speed is enabled by a self-service model within the Octopus app. According to the company, 70 per cent of customers now use the in-app “self-refund” option, which automates approvals. This system processes approximately 30,000 refunds every week.
Greg Jackson, founder and CEO of Octopus Energy, commented: “Moving £12billion of payments with zero disruption is a huge technical achievement. It’s another step in using technology to make energy fairer and faster for customers.”
Efficiency through automation
The partnership with GoCardless, a global bank payment company processing over $130billion annually, underpins Octopus’s strategy of using technology to reduce administrative friction. By automating the back-end transaction processes, the energy supplier aims to free up its customer service teams to focus on complex queries rather than repetitive payment administration.
Hiroki Takeuchi, co-founder and CEO of GoCardless, added: “We’re proud to power payments for Octopus Energy – a company that, like us, uses technology to make life simpler. This shows what’s possible when two tech-driven companies collaborate for good.”
Octopus Energy, which operates in 27 countries and manages a £7billion renewables portfolio, was the first major supplier to introduce a “Balance Forecaster” tool, allowing customers to visualize their usage and payments throughout the year. This latest migration further cements its reputation for leveraging fintech solutions to modernize the traditional utility model.