A recent ranking by Evident places Visa at the top in adopting and implementing artificial intelligence within the global payments industry, according to Business Insider. Mastercard and PayPal follow in second and third place, while fintech players such as Stripe and Block rank fifth and sixth, highlighting the rapid consolidation of AI capabilities in the sector.
The index reviews 12 major payment companies and assesses AI use in transaction authorization and fraud detection. However, none of the companies has disclosed clear data regarding the return on investment (ROI) of their AI initiatives.
Transparency as the next competitive threshold
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“Given that relatively young industry players like Stripe and Block are delivering strong performance — and their AI potential is already reflected in market valuations — leaders cannot afford to slow down,” said Alexandra Mousavizadeh, co-founder and co-CEO of Evident.
The 12 companies documented nearly 100 AI use cases over the past two years, with the top three accounting for more than half. Visa has invested over $3.5 billion in AI and data over the past decade and runs more than 300 AI models in production, according to Andres Vives, the company’s Chief Data Officer.
The index evaluates firms across four pillars: talent, innovation, leadership and transparency, with talent carrying the greatest weight. On average, 6.5% of employees across the 12 firms are engaged in AI-related roles, the highest concentration identified by Evident. PayPal alone accounts for 18% of the total AI specialists within the index.
“The absence of ROI reporting — or aggregated targets for AI investment returns — is becoming increasingly visible,” said Annabel Ayles, co-founder and co-CEO of Evident.
Evident anticipates that “agentic” AI systems, capable of autonomous action, will represent the next stage, shifting AI from a defensive necessity to a strategic differentiator.
In the full ranking compiled by Evident, Visa holds the top position, followed by Mastercard and PayPal. American Express ranks fourth, while the list continues with Stripe, Block, Adyen, Fiserv, FIS, Worldline, Global Payments, and Nexi, which completes the ranking in twelfth place.
Photo: Contxto
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