Citi expands its payments suite with Icon Solutions investment

By Delisha Fernandes

Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS), a branch within Citi, has made an investment in Icon Solutions, a FinTech provider of payments technology and consultancy services.

In addition to the investment, Citi plans to expand its use of the Icon Payments Framework (IPF) to enhance its micro-services orchestration architecture. This investment and relationship with Icon Solutions demonstrates Citi’s strategy of working with FinTechs to strengthen its technology and payments capabilities.

Debopama Sen, Head of Payments, Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions, said, “We are on a journey to unlock the full potential of the Citi network and respond to the need for a streamlined and efficient payment processing system. Through this relationship, we are removing platform complexity across our multiple products by following a process of ‘de-platforming’ common business services and creating reusable and extensible services that can be orchestrated using the IPF framework.”

Citi has embarked on a multi-year modernisation strategy of its payments platforms. As part of the program, Citi is working with and has invested in Icon Solutions to expand its innovation toolkit and futureproof its payments services. TTS will be using the IPF as part of its micro-services architecture.

Citi’s new payment platform will prioritize flexibility and accelerate the bank’s ability to respond to the exponential pace of change in payment infrastructure and the regulatory environment, as well as evolving client demands in an increasingly 24/7, real-time, digital-first environment.

Benefits of the payment transformation program include:

• True end-to-end ISO native payments that meet evolving industry and regulatory requirements, and deliver richer data to clients
• Futureproof solutions that are scalable and cloud-ready
• API-driven interfaces to enhance and accelerate client access to data

Tom Kelleher, Co-Founder and Director, Icon Solutions, said, “We are proud to be working with Citi on their journey towards a truly efficient, flexible payments platform. By reimagining its payments processing to reflect a rapidly evolving ecosystem and emerging customer requirements, Citi can meet the opportunities and demands of tomorrow. IPF offers a sustainable alternative to traditional infrastructure to support this change, empowering Citi to take control, overcome complexity and simplify payments transformation across the organization.”