Icon Solutions Names Raquel Guillot Southern Europe Sales Director to Accelerate Global Payments Adoption

Icon Solutions has appointed Raquel Guillot as Southern Europe Sales Director to accelerate the adoption of its Icon Payments Framework (IPF) across Southern Europe and Latin America. For fintech leaders, this move signals a strategic push to help Tier 1 banks modernize legacy infrastructure through a structured, low-risk development framework amid increasing pressure for real-time processing.

What was announced

Raquel Guillot joins Icon Solutions with approximately 20 years of experience across the banking and financial technology sectors. Her career began at Citibank before she transitioned into specialized roles at SAS, ACI Worldwide, and other technology providers, including Thought Machine. Her expertise spans analytics, fraud prevention, payments, and core banking technology. Based in Madrid, Guillot is tasked with driving the adoption of the Icon Payments Framework (IPF) among Tier 1 financial institutions.

The IPF is an internationally proven payments development framework designed to allow banks to transform their existing systems without the high risks often associated with wholesale infrastructure replacement. It is currently utilized by several major global institutions, including Citi, UBS, NatWest, and BNP Paribas. The framework's primary value proposition is enabling banks to deploy payment processing solutions faster while maintaining control over their internal timelines and costs.

This appointment marks the second significant addition to Icon’s sales leadership in 2024. It follows the recruitment of Anders Olofsson, who joined as Sales Director for EMEA in April. Guillot’s remit extends beyond Southern Europe to include Latin America, highlighting a geographical focus on regions where banks are seeking to consolidate fragmented systems into unified infrastructures capable of supporting diverse payment types.

"What attracted me to Icon was the combination of strong technology, a clear understanding of banks’ needs and a team that genuinely cares about its customers. Payments are evolving rapidly, and banks are increasingly recognising the need to modernise their infrastructure to remain competitive and deliver the experiences their customers expect. By consolidating fragmented systems and progressively moving towards a unified infrastructure that supports any payment, anytime, anywhere, banks can realise the foundational objectives of transformation – how to make more with less."

Raquel Guillot

The companies involved

Icon Solutions is a UK-based fintech firm that specializes in providing the technology and expertise required for global banks to design and implement modern payment systems. The company has established itself as a significant player in the payments transformation space, with its proprietary Icon Payments Framework (IPF) serving as its flagship offering. Unlike traditional vendors that provide "black-box" solutions, Icon focuses on a framework-based approach that allows banks to build and maintain their own intellectual property.

The firm has a significant presence in the international market, evidenced by its work with some of the world's largest Tier 1 financial institutions. Icon's market position is defined by its focus on payments development that reduces the complexity and cost of architectural shifts. The company has maintained a consistent trajectory of growth, supported by a leadership team that includes Global Sales Director Liam Jeffs. Icon Solutions is recognized as a key contributor to the dialogue surrounding the modernization of the global payments ecosystem, particularly in the transition toward real-time and instant payment capabilities.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has closely followed Icon Solutions' technical milestones and corporate growth. In September 2026, we covered how an Icon Solutions and MongoDB Benchmark Hits 6,000 TPS for Instant Payments, demonstrating the high-performance capabilities of the IPF. Earlier that year, the company was recognized for its contribution to the UK economy when UK Fintech Payments Company Icon Solutions Honoured With King’s Award For Enterprise.

We also reported on the firm's expansion into emerging technologies, noting how Icon Solutions Showcases How Banks Can Accelerate Digital Asset Innovation with IPF. Guillot’s arrival follows the previous leadership expansion we covered in April, when Icon Solutions Appoints Anders Olofsson as EMEA Sales Director to Drive Global Adoption of the Icon Payments Framework.

What this means

The appointment of a dedicated director for Southern Europe and Latin America suggests that the "rip and replace" era of core banking is definitively over for Tier 1 institutions. By hiring a veteran from legacy heavyweights like ACI and modern challengers like Thought Machine, Icon is positioning itself to bridge the gap between old-world stability and new-world agility. The industry is currently under immense pressure to solve the "more with less" dilemma; banks must support instant payments and digital assets without the catastrophic risk of a total system overhaul. This move highlights a growing market preference for flexible frameworks over monolithic software products.