The award was announced on 6 May 2026. It recognises the company’s work on payments technology used by banks.
Icon Solutions was founded in 2009 in Wimbledon, London, by Ben Hallifax, Darren Capehorn and Tom Kelleher. The company develops software and provides services for banks working on payments systems.
Its core product is the Icon Payments Framework (IPF). The company states that the framework is used by financial institutions including NatWest, BNP Paribas, Citi and UBS. The framework is designed to support banks in building and updating payments infrastructure.
“We are incredibly proud to receive this recognition. It reflects the impact of our work in helping banks modernise payments on their own terms, safely, efficiently, and without compromise, while supporting better outcomes for both customers and the industry as a whole. This award is a testament to the team’s expertise and our commitment to giving banks the technology and control they need to modernise with confidence.”
Tom Kelleher, co-founder of Icon Solutions
Tom Kelleher, co-founder of Icon Solutions. Image provided by Icon Solutions
The King’s Awards for Enterprise were renamed in 2023. They were previously known as The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise. The programme recognises UK businesses in categories including innovation.
According to the Bank of England, payment system resilience and modernisation remain a regulatory focus. Since billions of digital payments are processed annually in the UK, the country’s payment markets show continued activity in updating payment systems and infrastructure across the banking sector.
