EVIDENT AI INDEX | PAYMENTS
EVIDENT AI INDEX : PAYMENTS
February 2026
The Evident AI Index for Payments provides an unrivalled benchmark of AI maturity across the payments sector.
The Index evaluates 12 of the largest payment providers in North America and Europe against 60+ individual indicators drawn from millions of publicly available data points.
The benchmark assesses four critical pillars of AI capability: Talent, Innovation, Leadership, and Transparency.
Together, these measures offer an unparalleled view of the state of AI in payments—revealing who is leading the race and how the sector as a whole is evolving.
COMPANY ▼ | RANK | TALENT | INNOVATION | LEADERSHIP | TRANSPARENCY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Visa | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
Mastercard | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
PayPal | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 3 |
American Express | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 4 |
Stripe | 5 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 12 |
Block | 6 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 9 |
Adyen | 7 | 7 | 11 | 5 | 7 |
Fiserv | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
FIS | 9 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 5 |
Worldline SA | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 11 |
Global Payments | 11 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 8 |
Nexi | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 |
EVIDENT AI INDEX | PAYMENTS: KEY FINDINGS REPORT
KEY FINDINGS
Evident AI Index | Payments: Key Findings Report
The Key Findings Report offers a definitive view of the state of AI in payments based on the Evident AI Index for Payments. See where payment providers compare to other financial services in AI adoption, the key challenges they face and emerging trends.
10 MARCH | EVIDENT AI INDEX: PAYMENTS ROUNDTABLE
Top payments executives will join the experts that created the Index to unpack what makes a winner in the inaugural Evident AI Index for Payments. Discover:
- Where payments companies stand on AI maturity – and who's leading the way
- The highest impact use cases and where the greatest ROI opportunities lie
- How the rise of Agentic Commerce is reshaping the competitive landscape
TESTIMONIAL
HOW FINANCIAL SERVICES FIRMS WORK WITH US
BENCHMARKING
Leverage public and private data to develop a holistic view of AI maturity vs peers.
INTELLIGENCE
Access year-round reports covering cutting-edge trends in AI and financial services.
NEWSLETTER
Subscribe now for The Brief, Evident's newsletter covering the intersection of AI x Banking.
COMMUNITY
Connect with peers and leading experts at exclusive in-person and virtual events.
METHODOLOGY
PILLAR
WEIGHTING
SUB PILLARS
INDICATOR GROUPS
Talent
Capability & development
45%
Capability
AI Development Talent / Implementation Talent
Development
Training & Career Development / Hiring Initiatives
Innovation
Research, patents, ventures, ecosystem
30%
Research & Patents
Research / Patents
Ventures
Ventures
Open Source
Ecosystem
Leadership
in public communications and strategy
15%
AI Narrative
Content / Outcomes
Executive Positioning
CEO / Group Leadership
Transparency
of responsible AI activities
10%
RAI Leadership
RAI Content
RAI Innovation
Process / Outputs
RAI Talent
RAI Talent
GET IN TOUCH
Interested in finding out more about the Index and how we work with payments companies? Get in touch below.