Visa takes the crown in the global payments AI maturity race

Visa has emerged as the frontrunner in the payments industry’s AI race, according to a new maturity index from tracking firm Evident.

 Following closely are Mastercard and PayPal, with newer fintech giants like Stripe and Block securing fifth and sixth places. While established brands lead the pack, the ranking highlights a significant "red flag" across the entire sector: a total lack of transparency regarding return on investment (ROI).

Unlike many global banks, no payments firm has disclosed exactly how much their massive AI spending is actually yielding.

Annabel Ayles, Evident’s co-CEO, noted that the market will "sooner or later demand clearer evidence of value."

Currently, the top three companies account for over half of the industry's 100 documented AI use cases, particularly in fraud detection.

Visa alone has poured over $3.5 billion into AI and data over the last decade, employing 2,500 technologists.

Indeed, talent is the industry's strongest suit; roughly 6.5% of the total workforce in this sector is AI-focused—the highest concentration Evident has recorded across finance.

However, as the focus shifts toward "agentic" AI capabilities, the pressure to prove financial merit is mounting. High-profile figures like Jamie Dimon have already acknowledged the stiff competition these tech-heavy firms pose to traditional banks.

Evident suggests the next major milestone won't just be about better tech, but about who blinks first in revealing their financial gains.

As Ayles warned, "The absence of ROI disclosure — or any group targets for AI ROI — is increasingly conspicuous."