NatWest makes minority investment in payments fintech

NatWest has made a strategic minority investment in Icon Solutions, a fintech provider of payments technology and consultancy services.

Details of the investment have not been disclosed.

Last year, NatWest selected the Icon Solutions Payments Framework (IPF) to accelerate its payments modernisation. 

The low-code framework enables business payment experts to create workflows, and software engineering teams to extend and create customisable integrations into existing bank systems.

The latest strategic investment is part of the bank’s payment platform modernisation plan, which will build on its existing relationships and improve its ability to respond to the “rapidly changing” payment market.

Mark Brant, chief payments officer at NatWest

Mark Brant, chief payments officer at NatWest, said: “Our relationship with Icon Solutions has already helped us to bring our payments estate to life.

“This investment is fundamental to the delivery of our modernisation in payments technology, which will enable us to better serve our customers and to remain at the forefront of the payments industry.”

Tom Kelleher, co-founder and director of Icon Solutions, added: “We have a common belief in the adoption of low-code technologies to deliver new payments systems quickly and safely, with a significantly lower cost profile.

“Overcoming vendor lock-in and powering in-house builds with the Icon Payments Framework (IPF), NatWest can now drive change from within. Building new revenue streams, anticipating regulatory change, responding to market changes or competitive pressures.”

Kelleher called the investment from NatWest “a commitment to a future where payments are safe, immediate, and flexible”.

Brant added: “Combining the scale and resilience of a bank with the speed and innovation of a fintech like Icon Solutions means we can bring new payment services to our customers quickly and safely.”