Adyen, Elavon, Global Payments, JPMorgan Chase, North, and Nuvei lead the field in TSG’s 2026 API Best of Breed awards, recognizing the payment gateways setting the standard for API performance, developer experience, and innovation. The awards are issued by TSG (The Strawhecker Group), a global leader in payments analytics and consulting.

TSG’s annual API Best of Breed Report, powered by GEM (Global Experience Monitoring), evaluates gateway APIs across a comprehensive set of factors to provide benchmarks, recommendations, and insight into the developer integration experience. GEM benchmarks gateway experiences from merchant, developer, and technical perspectives.

The results are based on TSG’s independent review of publicly available API documentation. Each API is assessed from the perspective of both novice and experienced developers. TSG continues to evolve the award categories and assessment criteria to reflect the factors shaping today’s integration experience.

“An API is where strategy meets execution. Documentation depth, development stack maturity, and the time it takes a developer to move from first click to first transaction now separate the leaders from the field,” said Darren Adelgren, Senior Head of Payment Technology, Development & Enablement at TSG. “The bar is moving again as AI reshapes how developers discover, test, and integrate. The gateways recognized here treat the API as a product, not a byproduct, and they are building for the developer and the agent.”

“Developer experience has become a growth conversation, not just a technical one,” said Jon Lennon, Chief Revenue Officer at TSG. “When integration is fast and predictable, merchants can launch sooner, partners can commit more volume, and revenue can follow. These awards recognize companies connecting engineering investment to commercial results, and we are proud to work alongside them.”

API “Best of Breed” Awards

Best Overall API – Adyen

Adyen received this award for delivering a cohesive integration experience across API design, security, onboarding, documentation, tooling, and support.

Runners-Up: Global Payments / JPMorgan Chase (Commerce Platform)

API Excellence & Innovation – JPMorgan Chase (Commerce Platform)

JPMorgan Chase received this award for combining strong API design, reliable performance, comprehensive documentation, and forward-looking payment capabilities.

Runners-Up: Bank of America Gateway / Global Payments

Best Dev Stack – JPMorgan Chase (Commerce Platform)

JPMorgan Chase received this award for providing well-maintained software development kits, sandbox environments, and testing resources that streamline integration.

Runners-Up: Elavon (Converge) / Global Payments

Fraud Prevention & Risk Decisioning – Nuvei

Nuvei received this award for transparent risk tooling that gives developers greater control over fraud screening, decisioning, and compliance workflows.

Runners-Up: Global Payments / JPMorgan Chase (Commerce Platform)

Best Developer Experience – Global Payments

Global Payments received this award for combining AI-powered developer tools, reliable webhooks, quality software development kits, strong API specifications, and clear communications.

Runners-Up: Elavon Payment Gateway / Nuvei

Best Emerging Technology – Global Payments

Global Payments received this award for advancing AI-native integrations, Model Context Protocol support, and readiness for real-time payment rails.

Runners-Up: Bank of America Gateway / JPMorgan Chase (Commerce Platform)

Best B2B API – Elavon Payment Gateway

Elavon Payment Gateway received this award for supporting the data, workflow, and interchange-optimization requirements of complex B2B payments.

Runners-Up: Global Payments / North

GEM helps payments companies benchmark gateway experiences, identify opportunities, and improve performance against the market. For more information about TSG and the GEM platform, please contact us online or call 1-833-690-1301. Payments professionals may create an account at TSG Portal to trial TSG’s solutions.

Companies and/or products considered for any TSG awards may or may not include clients of TSG and do not necessarily represent all companies or products in the market. This analysis is based upon information we consider reliable, but its accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed. Information provided is not all-inclusive. All information listed is as available from July to September 2026. TSG is not and/or may not be endorsed, sponsored by, or in any other way affiliated with the companies or their logos illustrated. The trademarks shown are registered and their own. This document has not been prepared by any entity displayed.

About TSG

TSG (The Strawhecker Group) is a globally recognized analytics and consulting firm that supports the entire payments ecosystem, serving over 1,000 clients from Fortune 500 leaders to more than a dozen of the world’s most valuable brands. Trusted by industry leaders, TSG’s strategic services, market intelligence, and analytics merge to empower clients with actionable and accessible information. Please visit www.tsgpayments.com.

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