Leader
77Heralded Score, range 67–84
The most visible online payment gateways, October 2026
Most cited source
25citations
From Google AI Mode and Google AI Overviews
Where engines disagree most
They agree
Every engine names the same top three.
Brands
Search is not measured for this board yet, so it ranks on AI answers.
| Rank | Brand | Rank change | Heralded Score All | AI | Score trend | Mentioned | Recommended | By engine | Mentioned by | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | | Unranked | Too few answers | Not measured | –
| 3% | 0% | | First reading | |
| – | | Unranked | Too few answers | Not measured | –
| 4% | 0% | None | First reading | |
| – | | Unranked | Too few answers | Not measured | –
| 1% | 0% | | First reading | |
| – | | Unranked | Too few answers | Not measured | –
| 2% | 0% | None | First reading | |
| – | | Unranked | Too few answers | Not measured | –
| 3% | 0% | None | First reading | |
| – | | Unranked | Too few answers | Not measured | –
| 0% | 0% | None | First reading | |
| – | | Unranked | Too few answers | Not measured | –
| 0% | 0% | None | First reading | |
| – | | Unranked | Too few answers | Not measured | –
| 0% | 0% | None | First reading | |
| – | | Unranked | Too few answers | Not measured | –
| 0% | 0% | None | First reading | |
| – | | Unranked | Too few answers | Not measured | –
| 1% | 0% | None | First reading |
“=” marks brands whose score ranges overlap, so the test cannot separate them. Every brand named in at least three answers is ranked. AI gives each brand’s score and rank from the engines’ answers; Search is not measured for this board yet. By engine has one dot per engine (ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Google AI Mode), darker the more often it names the brand.
Most cited sources
| Rank | Source | Type | Cited in | Engines | Pages cited | Brands its pages mention |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | | Media | 5.0% | 2 of 4 | 2 | 7 |
| 12 | | Vendor site | 3.3% | 2 of 4 | 2 | Not read |
| 13 | | Regulator | 3.3% | 1 of 4 | 1 | 2 |
| 14 | | Vendor site | 3.3% | 2 of 4 | 1 | 7 |
| 15 | | Consultancy | 3.3% | 1 of 4 | 1 | 6 |
| 16 | | Directory | 3.3% | 1 of 4 | 1 | 6 |
| 17 | | Social | 1.7% | 1 of 4 | 2 | Not read |
| 18 | | Review site | 3.3% | 2 of 4 | 2 | Not read |
| 19 | | Vendor site | 3.3% | 1 of 4 | 1 | Not read |
| 20 | | Vendor site | 3.3% | 2 of 4 | 2 | Not read |
Questions asked
| Question | Language | Most recommended |
|---|---|---|
| What is the best payment gateway for an online store? | English | |
| Online payment processing for small businesses | English | |
| How can a small online store accept card payments? | English | |
| How do I add online payments to my website? | English | |
| Payment gateway from a bank vs. an online payment provider for e-commerce | English | |
| Flat-rate vs. interchange-plus pricing for online payments | English | No brand recommended |
| Alternatives to cash on delivery for an online store | English | |
| Alternatives to bank transfers for collecting customer payments online | English | |
| I run a small online shop. Which payment gateway should I use? | English |  Shopify Payments, |
| I lead e-commerce at a retailer and want fewer declined payments at checkout. | English | |
Each engine's top three
Related leaderboards
Method
Each leaderboard ranks brands on two sides. AI is how ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode answer the board's buyer questions. Search is Google's top 10 results for the keywords behind those questions. All combines the two, where Search is measured.
For the AI side, each month Heralded asks every engine the same buyer questions, twice each, and reads every answer. An answer counts 0 for a brand it leaves out, 50 for a brand it names and 100 for a brand it recommends, and the Heralded Score is built from those. A brand named in at least three answers gets a score and a place.