Leader
77Heralded Score, range 68–84
The most visible online payment gateways, October 2026
Where engines disagree most
They agree
Every engine names the same top three.
Brands
| Rank | Brand | Rank change | Heralded Score All | AI | Search | Score trend | Mentioned | Recommended | By engine | Mentioned by | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | New entry | 77 , range 68–84 | 77#1 | 76#1 | 77
| 64% | 40% | None | First reading | |
| 2 | | New entry | 75 , range 66–83 | 74#2 | 76#2 | 75
| 68% | 32% | None | First reading | |
| 3 | | New entry | 69 , range 49–77 | 67#3 | 73#3 | 69
| 51% | 28% | None | First reading | |
| 4 |  Shopify Payments CA | New entry | 53 , range 22–62 | 42#4 | 70#8 | 53
| 26% | 17% | None | First reading | |
| 5 | | New entry | 48 , range 21–56 | 35#5 | 71#6 | 48
| 22% | 11% | None | First reading | |
| 6 | | New entry | 47 , range 9–55 | 32#6 | 71#5 | 47
| 19% | 10% | None | First reading | |
| 7 | | New entry | 40 , range 11–51 | 21#7 | 71#4 | 40
| 13% | 10% | None | First reading | |
| 8 | | New entry | 36 , range 3–51 | 15#9 | 71#7 | 36
| 13% | 7% | None | First reading | |
| 9 | | New entry | 34 , range 8–50 | 17#8 | 63#9 | 34
| 16% | 2% | None | First reading | |
| 10 | | New entry | 7 , range 2–43 | 7#10 | 6#25 | 7
| 6% | 2% | 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 and Search give each brand’s score and rank on that side alone. 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
No answer cited a source of this type (Reference).
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.