Icon Solutions, the independent IT payment consultancy and specialist technology provider, has today announced two strategic hires to bolster its unprecedented growth, and support the expansion and development of its Global Payments Practice. Rob Hewitt joins as Senior Payments Consultant and Christopher Kong joins as Payment Consultant.

Icon is currently experiencing a period of rapid growth, with turnover increasing from £3.3m in 2010 to £14m in 2016, this also represents a 50 per cent increase in turnover within the last year. This stellar growth has enabled Icon to further establish its reputation for payments expertise.

To Hay, Head of Payments at Icon said: “We are delighted to welcome Rob and Chris to the team. Rob’s wealth of payments experience, particularly in the digital domain will reinforce the strength of our Global Payments Practice. While Christopher’s creative approach to product innovation, linked with his deep understanding of cutting-edge technologies in payments, will significantly enhance Icon’s ability to help customer and product development.”

Rob is an experienced international banking and technology consultant. He brings considerable business experience gained from senior management positions in First Rand Bank, Fiserv and ABeam Consulting US (previously Deloitte Tohmatsu Japan) and has led consulting engagements at top tier global financial institutions. He has significant experience in international and domestic payments and has delivered a multitude of projects across the globe.

“I am delighted to be joining such a dynamic and innovative team at a time of tremendous change and opportunity in the payments sector,” said Rob. “Icon has already established world-class expertise in the area of Instant Payments and I am looking forward to being part of building its Global Payments Practice into a global leader in payments consulting.”

Christopher joins Icon from RBS where he was Head of Innovation and New Product Development in its payment division. He has worked with major retail and mobile companies to deliver consumer facing payment products using PSD2-style APIs, Instant Payments and blockchain distributed ledgers.

Commenting on his appointment, Christopher said: “A big part of my role will be in building on Icon’s Global Payments Practice to tackle the major challenges facing banks in the digital and Instant Payments space. With billions of payment transactions processed in Europe during 2015, we see tremendous potential. This is a very exciting time for Icon.” ​