The highest-scoring vendor across all vendors evaluated for AI functionality, with best-in-class scores across configurability, workflow, modeling, and case management.
Get Chartis's full analysis in our exclusive vendor spotlight.
.avif)
Chartis Research evaluated more than 40 vendors in its Enterprise and Payment Fraud Solutions, 2026: Quadrant Update.
Unit21 was named a Category Leader across Enterprise Fraud and Payment Fraud Solutions as well as scored highest in AI across all vendors evaluated.
The report describes a market shifting away from siloed point tools toward unified, AI-led fraud platforms — and grades vendors on how effectively they operationalize AI, not just whether they offer it.
Chartis’s full analysis of Unit21's positioning across all three quadrants Enterprise Fraud Solutions, Payment Fraud Solutions, and Fraud Platforms
Capability-by-capability commentary on the five best-in-class scores and Unit21's broader strengths in behavioral monitoring, mule detection, ACH fraud, and integrations.
The market shift Chartis identifies a shit from siloed point tools to unified, AI-led platforms and how Unit21 is positioned within it.
The role of AI in fraud prevention today, and how Chartis evaluated vendors on production AI rather than experimental claims
“Unit21 sits at the front of a market shift Charis is seeing, where AI is not simply a feature but a structural market driver. The combination of best-in-class AI capabilities, configurability, and workflow orchestration alongside its consortium and graph analytics places Unit21 as a Category Leader and among the vendors best positioned to define the next generation of enterprise fraud prevention.”
Philip Mackenzie, Senior Research Principal, Chartis Research
Build whatever detection, investigation, and workflow you need. Data-agnostic. Rules are self-service. Workflows are configurable.
4.4 best-in-class capabilities in
configurability
Agents that do the job, not just assist. Detection agents write and tune rules. Investigation agents triage alerts and draft narratives. Human stays in the loop.
4.3 best-in-class capabilities in
AI functionality
A fraud intelligence network across all customers. The fraudster is always the recipient. When one customer identifies a bad actor, every customer benefits.
3.8 advanced capabilities in advanced/proprietary fraud detection techniques
Recognized for advanced and proprietary fraud detection, behavioral monitoring (including the Device Risk Score and custom variables), and best-in-class modeling, testing, and workflow capabilities.
Recognized for fraud and analytical models, ACH fraud coverage, sub-250ms decisioning latency, and platform packaging across modern payment ecosystems.
Best-in-class scores in AI functionality (highest across all vendors evaluated), configurability, and workflow and case management.
Chartis’s 2026 analysis describes a fraud technology market undergoing structural transformation. Three dynamics are reshaping how institutions evaluate and buy fraud solutions:
Vendors are now evaluated on how effectively they operationalize, govern, and adapt AI not simply on whether they incorporate it. At the same time, AI is lowering barriers for fraudsters through synthetic identities and advanced impersonation, creating what Chartis describes as an ongoing arms race where governance and explainability matter as much as detection accuracy.
Chartis identifies a clear shift toward treating fraud as an enterprise-wide strategic challenge that spans onboarding, identity, payments, AML, and customer experience. This is driving demand for unified platforms that replace fragmented point solutions.
Third, configurability and deployment speed have become critical differentiators particularly for fintechs, crypto platforms, and digital-first institutions where fraud typologies change weekly and teams cannot wait on vendor engineering cycles to adapt.
Chartis Research evaluated more than 40 vendors in its Enterprise and Payment Fraud Solutions, 2026: Quadrant Update. Vendors are scored on a 1–5 scale across capability categories including fraud detection, AI functionality, configurability, workflow, modeling, and case management. Scores between 4.1 and 5.0 represent best-in-class capabilities; scores between 3.1 and 4.0 represent advanced capabilities. No vendor has ever received a 5.0 in any category.
Vendors are placed into one of four quadrant positions—Category Leader, Best-of-Breed, Enterprise Solution, or Point Solution—based on their completeness of offering and market potential. The 2026 update covers three distinct quadrants: Enterprise Fraud Solutions, Payment Fraud Solutions, and Fraud Platforms.
Unit21 was evaluated alongside vendors including FICO, SAS, Feedzai, NICE Actimize, Visa, Quantexa, Nasdaq Verafin, SymphonyAI, LexisNexis Risk Solutions, Experian, Hawk, DataVisor, Sumsub, and more than 25 others.