Ascend Australia 2026
October 14th

Digital commerce is entering a new era where intelligence must move faster than fraud and operate across the entire customer journey, not just at checkout. In this opening keynote, Riskified leadership will unveil how AI-driven behavioural intelligence and pre-checkout innovations are transforming fraud management from point-in-time decisions into continuous, autonomous protection. Attendees will see how network-wide intelligence, real-time decisioning, and explainable AI come together to stop fraud earlier, approve more good customers, and deliver measurable business impact, while previewing Riskified’s vision for the future of agentic commerce and enterprise growth.

This Innovation Showcase brings Intelligence in Motion to life through live, guided demos from Riskified Product Managers. Attendees will see how AI-driven decisions operate across the commerce journey, from pre-checkout behavioural intelligence to real-time approvals, policy controls, and post-transaction protection. The session highlights how network intelligence, explainable AI, and adaptive decisioning work together to stop fraud earlier, reduce friction for good customers, and drive measurable business impact.

Modern fraud has fundamentally changed: it is now identity-driven, coordinated, and designed to look exactly like legitimate customer behavior. With Gen AI collapsing the barrier to entry, sophisticated attacks are accelerating, making single-merchant, transaction-level systems obsolete and already too late. This session proves why you must shift your focus entirely. Learn how the combination of massive network scale, dynamic behavioural analysis, and cross-identity relationships allows you to predict and block fraud, account takeovers, and claims abuse before transactions begin, ensuring you confidently reward loyal customers and preserve revenue.

Join Goran Stefkovski, CTO of Kogan.com, for a candid 20-minute conversation on how one of Australia’s largest ecommerce retailers turned fraud prevention into a competitive advantage. Goran will unpack how Kogan automated chargeback defense and cut scheme fees on Kogan First subscriptions, lifted approval rates for first-time and high-value customers without opening the door to more risk, and clamped down on refund abuse, trial abuse, promo code abuse, and customers running multiple accounts. He’ll also share how tighter data reporting and system integration kept operations running smoothly through major platform changes, and how a disciplined, ROI-driven approach to risk management is helping Kogan launch new ventures, from gold bullion sales to what’s next, with confidence.

Join Bevan Morris, David Jones, for a candid 20-minute conversation on how one of Australia’s most iconic retailers is putting intelligence in motion across fraud, payments, and risk operations. Bevan will unpack how David Jones has meaningfully lifted approval rates, holding steady even through peak trading, by combining smarter real-time decisioning with more precise screening for its highest-value shoppers, so more legitimate orders get through without opening the door to more risk. He’ll share how the team is automating chargeback disputes to reclaim hours of manual work each week, and how they’re identifying and quantifying loyalty abuse, reseller fraud, promo abuse, and excessive returns to protect margins as fee structures evolve. The conversation will also look ahead, from extending automation across more of their payment gateways, to catching fraud earlier in the transaction lifecycle, to expanding decisioning across new payment methods and channels, all part of a fraud strategy built to scale with David Jones’ growth.

In this fireside chat, JB Hi-Fi shares how it’s putting intelligence in motion across its fraud and payments operations. From lifting approval rates on phone orders, PayPal, gift cards, and digital gaming, to identifying and containing fraud rings around high-demand launches like Grand Theft Auto 6, the team will unpack how faster, sharper decisioning has translated directly into protected revenue and a Titans Award win. The conversation will also cover how JB Hi-Fi streamlined chargeback management through daily reporting, automated disputing, and API integrations, and how that same intelligence is now shaping a leaner commercial framework and measurable cost savings. Attendees will leave with a practical look at how one of Australia’s largest retailers turns insight into action, protecting margins and unlocking growth without slowing the business down.

High return rates. Serial refund abuse. Peak-season pressure on approval rates. Retail and fashion teams are under constant pressure to stop fraud without alienating their best customers. In this roundtable, peers from leading retail and fashion brands share how they reduce false positives, protect high-value shoppers, and defend margins in an environment of rising returns and increasingly sophisticated abuse. Expect candid discussion on approval rate tradeoffs, identity intelligence that mitigates refund and returns abuse, cross-border risk, and the strategies brands use to build trust while keeping checkout fast and conversion strong across channels and regions.

Electronics, hardware, health and beauty, and homewares retailers face a different fraud profile than fashion: reshipping schemes on high-value gadgets, warranty and returns fraud, loyalty and rewards program abuse, click-and-collect fraud, and promo abuse during major sales moments. This roundtable brings together specialty and big-box retail leaders to share how they protect margin on high-value SKUs, manage chargebacks at scale, and keep approval rates high without opening the door to organized fraud rings chasing in-demand inventory. Expect candid discussion on warranty fraud, loyalty abuse, and balancing speed with scrutiny across in-store, click-and-collect, and online channels.

Payment orchestration platforms, embedded finance providers, and marketplace technology companies sit at a different vantage point than a typical merchant: risk that spans multiple merchants, vendors, or sellers rather than a single storefront. This roundtable brings together platform and infrastructure leaders to discuss how they manage fraud and risk on behalf of the merchants they serve, from onboarding and KYC to transaction monitoring across a portfolio of sellers. Expect discussion on scaling risk decisioning across diverse merchant bases, balancing platform-level controls with individual seller autonomy, and building trust with both merchants and end consumers.

As AI begins to act on behalf of consumers, merchants are facing new questions around liability, fraud prevention, and control. This peer-led conversation is designed to move beyond theory into real-world implications, including how teams are preparing for AI-driven purchasing, where current risk frameworks fall short, and what it will take to maintain both conversion and trust as this shift accelerates. Expect an open, practical exchange with fellow ecommerce leaders navigating these emerging challenges.