Ascend Goes Global, Connecting the Global Merchant Community Across Six Countries

Hundreds of attendees gathered to share insights and advance innovation in ecommerce fraud prevention

For the first time, Ascend summit went global, bringing together the ecommerce fraud and customer experience community in six major cities throughout the globe: New York, London, Melbourne, Shanghai, Tokyo, and São Paulo. The expansion led to a 78% increase in attendees, representing an over 200% rise in GMV as compared to last year. In total, we had over $1 trillion in merchant ecommerce volume represented at our events. The summits featured over 30 speakers who shared their expertise on emerging trends, fraud prevention strategies, and innovative ways to drive ecommerce growth.

In London, where the Ascend global tour kicked off, Riskified Co-Founder and CEO Eido Gal opened the summit by reflecting on ecommerce’s continued expansion–projected to reach nearly $7 trillion in 2025–and the growing importance of network data and solution co-creation with merchants to advance fraud prevention. Merchant presentations revealed distinct strategies that fueled their success. Kieran Cotter, Sr. Fraud & Investigations Manager at Dyson, celebrated as the Riskified Titan of Ecommerce for Europe,  illustrated a profit protection framework that led to an increase in approval rates and gross margin improvement. Dajana Gajic-Fisic, VP of Fraud at Wolfe, highlighted how minimizing false declines can enhance customer lifetime value. And Paul Woosley, Director of Fraud Analytics for Macy’s, examined the surge in omnichannel return fraud and how initiatives like SMS recovery flows have improved conversion and customer satisfaction.

In North America, discussions centered on the growing sophistication of online scams and the industry’s shift toward collaborative fraud prevention. Sessions explored how merchants are using Adaptive Checkout to apply selective verification only where it’s truly needed – reducing false declines and preserving customer lifetime value. TicketNetwork’s CFO, Chris Hummer, was recognized as the Riskified Titan of Ecommerce for North America for his leadership in advancing smarter ecommerce risk management, while Rue Gilt Groupe’s VP of Customer Service, Maria Vargas, shared how identity-aware intelligence enables the company to distinguish between loyal customers and potential policy abusers in real time.

Ascend Shanghai focused on the rapid evolution of fraud in high-growth markets and the impact of AI-driven decisioning. Carmen Wong, Burberry’s Digital Risk Manager, reflected on their decade-long partnership with Riskified, demonstrating how thoughtful integration of fraud prevention and customer experience strategies enables global scalability without compromising trust. Other sessions explored the nuances of return and refund behaviors, showing how merchants can segment and engage “frequent buyers and returners” or “fitting-in addicts” in ways that reduce abuse while preserving long-term loyalty. Riskified’s Adaptive Checkout product was also highlighted for achieving behavioral correction rates of up to 90 percent, helping merchants retain legitimate customers who might otherwise be lost to unnecessary verification steps.

Ascend summits in Australia, Brazil, and Japan featured more luminary merchants including the Riskified Titan of Ecommerce for Australia Andrew Booth, Head Of Operational Risk, Cotton On Group; Mo Nagi, Group Loss Prevention Manager at Chemist Warehouse; Guilherme Feldman, CEO of Bilheteria Digital; Ramiro Rodriguez, Fraud Manager at Ring by Amazon; Takahiro Kinoshita, United Arrows; Yumiko Honda, Andest; Ayumi Shima, AKOMEYA TOKYO; Hideyuki Fujita, Mitsubishi UFJ NICOS; Andrea Stoll, Ecommerce Leader at NielsenIQ Brazil; and Maria Eduarda Ribeiro, Latam Manager at Juspay. Across all Ascend events, conversations converged around three global themes: the industrialization of fraud, the growing importance of AI-driven risk management, and the urgency of tackling omnichannel returns and policy abuse.

“Launching Ascend as a global series is a major milestone for Riskified and our merchant network,” said Jeff Otto, Chief Marketing Officer of Riskified. “By sharing insights, co-creating solutions, and delivering measurable impact across markets, we’re helping merchants worldwide stay ahead of sophisticated fraud while unlocking new opportunities for growth.”

Each regional summit delivered actionable takeaways for merchants, underscoring the importance of collective intelligence, adaptive fraud prevention, and strategic management of returns and policy abuse. The global series strengthened relationships, elevated Riskified’s brand, and demonstrated measurable business impact across multiple regions. Building on this momentum, Ascend 2026 is already in planning-continuing Riskified’s mission to foster collaboration, innovation, and growth for merchants worldwide.

About Ascend                                                                                                                                                 In its eighth year, Ascend is the premier summit for ecommerce risk management, bringing together industry leaders and fraud experts to discuss the evolving challenges and opportunities in the world of online businesses. Each gathering features inspiring keynotes, panel discussions, and insights into tackling fraud while unlocking growth in ecommerce.