Currently, only 38 participants are directly connected to CHAPS (Clearing House Automated Payment System), with most connecting through indirect agreements. Many prospective participants choose not to pursue direct participation due to strict…

Our client needed an agile and holistic technology architecture fit for a modern digital financial institution. They engaged Icon’s Architecture team to recommend a new model for wider adoption, one that put…

Driving the mainstream growth of Open Banking payments continues to be a key talking point for the UK government, regulators and wider banking industry. With more than 10% of the UK adult…

Last month, Icon brought together payments professionals from across Europe and the US for our 3rd IPF Day. Amid regulatory pressures, increasing competition and evolving business needs, the event served as an…

Over recent years, starting with the SEPA scheme, and now with SWIFT and CHAPS, there has been a convergence onto the ISO 20022 standard messaging format. As payment messages in ISO 20022…

Financial crime is on the rise, and it is costing billions. New research shows UK financial services organisations are collectively spending £34.2 billion each year on financial crime compliance, up 19% since…

Instant payments, characterised by their speed and availability, are transforming the financial landscape across the globe. The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region in particular, has emerged as a leader in adopting and innovating in…

In this blog, Jamie Packham, shares his own experiences deploying generative artificial intelligence (AI) models and explores the potential for AI to help accelerate banks’ migration to the ISO 20022 messaging standard….

It is critical for financial institutions to have an efficient Reconciliation and Investigation (R&I) capability to minimise financial risk by identifying potential payment errors, discrepancies, or irregularities promptly and fixing them early…

A recent independent survey conducted by Celent found that 73% of corporate banks have reported clear revenue benefits from investment in advanced data analytics. Looking ahead, analytics, intelligent automation, and artificial intelligence…

The banking industry is going through significant transformation across its various business domains and core banking has been one of the key areas of focus for many banks in recent years. Most…

Back before Christmas, at the same time as the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, a new report by HM Treasury was released – the Future of Payments Review report [1]. This report proposes a set…

In the first blog of our two-part predictions series, we explored the key technological and regulatory trends shaping the payments landscape in 2024. In this second blog, we explore the practical strategies…

2023 put the traditional processing model for account-based payments to the test, as evolving customer demands, intensifying competition from fintechs and shifting regulatory requirements continued to intensify margin pressures. And although 2024…

Last month Icon hosted its final IPF Client Day of 2023. The event brought our clients together in London to explore the latest business trends in the payments market and technologies shaping…

This case study is about Icon providing a Tier 1 UK bank with expert solution and data architecture capabilities to augment the bank’s own teams across three areas: 1 Payments – Creating…

With Artificial Intelligence (AI) being part of the Zeitgeist and almost every newspaper containing an article on AI, it is reasonable to want to ensure that your business can gain competitive advantage…

This Tier 1 bank was looking for a payments infrastructure that would allow them greater flexibility, speed and innovation. The bank recognised Icon’s proven track record in delivering payments transformation strategies for…

When a Tier 1 UK bank was facing numerous challenges with its core banking system, typical to monolithic and legacy platforms, the bank turned to Icon. This case study describes how we…

This case study demonstrates Icon’s expertise and understanding of how enterprise architecture supports effective transformation and that it must encompass people, processes and technology. It’s about work we recently did for a…

This Tier 1 UK bank lacked comprehensive and real-time visibility into customers’ needs and transactions and therefore couldn’t provide on-time responses. Additionally, the bank was planning to provide more of-the-moment insights to…

Icon Solutions was engaged by this bank to support their Debit Card Gateway replacement process and to assist them in developing their strategy for the wider Debit Card Platform Transformation programme.

Icon Solutions was engaged by this bank to provide expert review and validation of the bank’s target architecture and technical roadmap for Transaction Monitoring. This initiative was sponsored by the CIO for…