Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) has made an investment in Icon Solutions, a fintech provider of payment technology and advisory services.
In addition to the investment, Citi plans to expand its use of the Icon Payments Framework (IPF) to improve its microservices orchestration architecture. This investment and relationship with Icon Solutions demonstrates Citi’s strategy to work with fintechs to strengthen its technology and payments capabilities.
Citi has been working on a multi-year effort to modernize its payment platforms. As part of the program, Citi has partnered with and invested in Icon Solutions to expand its innovation toolkit and future payment services. TTS will use IPF as part of its microservices architecture.
Citi’s new payments platform will prioritize flexibility and accelerate the bank’s ability to respond to the exponential pace of change in the payments infrastructure and regulatory environment, as well as evolving customer demands in an increasingly 24/7, real time, digital environment.
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 meet the need for a streamlined and efficient payment processing system. Through this relationship, we remove 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.”
“Our new approach will enable our engineering teams to respond faster and more effectively to industry developments such as ISO 20022 and deliver high-quality innovation and functionality for our customers,” he added.
Tom Kelleher, co-founder and director of Icon Solutions, adds:
“We are proud to partner with Citi on their journey towards a truly efficient, flexible payments platform. By redesigning its payments process to reflect a rapidly evolving ecosystem and emerging customer demands, Citi can meet the opportunities and demands of tomorrow. IPF offers a viable alternative to traditional infrastructure to support this change, enabling Citi to take control, overcome complexity and simplify payments transformation across the organization.”
Citi TTS contributes to the success of its clients by providing a comprehensive range of innovative and tailored cash management and trade finance services to multinational corporations, financial institutions and public sector organizations around the world. Building on the establishment of the industry’s largest proprietary network, with banking licenses in over 90 countries and globally integrated technology platforms, TTS continues to lead the way in offering a comprehensive suite of digitally enabled treasury, trading and liquidity solutions.