The Merchant Risk Council (MRC) held its second annual one-day event in Melbourne on 10 June 2025. The event brought together professionals from various sectors, including merchants, issuers, law enforcement, and solution providers, to share insights and strategies on fraud prevention, payment optimisation, and risk management. Attendees received updates on regulations from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), as well as information on surcharging and initiatives like PayTo. 

Key topics discussed included strategies for tackling fraud, preventing scams, loyalty fraud, first-party misuse, and emerging fraud tactics. The event also addressed the evolution of payment technologies, with a focus on AI-driven fraud detection, passkeys, and payment orchestration. 

Keynote: Small Business, Big Shifts – Rethinking Payments for Business Impact 

Following the welcome remarks from MRC CEO Julie Fergerson, we heard from keynote speakers Naomi Simson, entrepreneur, blogger, and Founding Director of RedBalloon, who was accompanied by Dave Ellet, Chief Commercial Officer at Australian Payments Plus (AP+), to discuss the business needs and opportunities in the payments sector, particularly for small businesses.  

Naomi’s keynote challenged the payment industry to reframe how it serves small businesses, not just with infrastructure but by listening to their needs. She says small businesses want payments to “just work”, and the compliance around banking rails of regulatory transitions is often irrelevant to them. What matters is ease, speed, and impact. Naomi also highlighted how high expectations are now the norm across verticals, from real-time payouts to embedded financial experiences, urging the industry to move beyond compliance-driven innovation and embrace human-centric product design that supports small business growth.  

Why Payments Should be a Standalone Function: Breaking Away from IT and Finance Silos 

A session on organisational structure in payments argued for the establishment of payments as a standalone business function, rather than being housed within IT or finance departments. A case was presented showing how this strategic shift led to improved revenue, enhanced customer experience, and overall business growth. The approach emphasised embedding payments within a company’s growth strategy rather than treating it as a back-office utility. 

Fighting Fraud for a Seamless Customer Experience 

A data-driven presentation highlighted the accelerating pace of fraud, scams, and cybercrime across the Asia-Pacific region. It explored key threats such as enumeration attacks, synthetic identities, trends on the dark web, and the evolving split between authorised and unauthorised fraud. 

Another speaker shifted focus from fraud prevention to the customer journey, specifically, how the guest checkout experience remains highly vulnerable. It was suggested that modernising guest checkout with tokenisation, passkeys, and biometric authentication could drastically reduce friction and risk, while maintaining a seamless experience. 

A2A in APAC: Global Lessons from a Land Beyond Cards 

A post-lunch discussion delved into the complex landscape of account-to-account (A2A) payments across APAC. From India’s UPI to QR-code wallets in Southeast Asia, the growth of A2A solutions is accelerating, albeit unevenly. The session outlined three core variables shaping the trend: market readiness, consumer behaviour, and merchant adoption. 

One key insight was that adoption is often driven more by behavioural factors than by features or cost. For example, cash still dominates in some markets despite the availability of digital alternatives. For merchants, the path to A2A success involves localisation, continuous iteration, and experimentation beyond simply integrating the latest tools. 

The Evolving Role of Multi-Party Platforms: Payments, Fraud and Innovation 

This session examined how multi-party platforms are redefining their role not merely as processors but as orchestrators of trust, compliance, and financial infrastructure. Platforms are now expected to behave like regulated entities, even when they are not formally classified as such. 

Topics included the growing demand for faster payouts, frictionless onboarding, and invisible but high-value embedded financial products. Investments in compliance, fraud prevention, and cross-border infrastructure are becoming essential for platforms aiming to support smaller players at scale. 

Regulatory Updates in Australia and APAC: Navigating the Evolving Payments Landscape 

A panel discussion explored the shifting regulatory environment in Australia and across the broader APAC region. Key themes included de-risking, consumer protection, financial inclusion, and digitisation. 

There was a strong call for increased collaboration between regulators and innovators, with a shared understanding that compliance is evolving into a product feature rather than a checkbox exercise. Firms capable of translating regulatory requirements into intuitive, user-friendly experiences will stand out. Interoperability across domestic and cross-border schemes, including QR standards, was also flagged as a future priority. 

Stopping Fraud Before It Starts: Tools and Techniques to Detect Bots and Bad Actors Early in Online Interactions 

The final session of the day focused on proactive fraud prevention, intervening earlier in the customer journey, before the checkout stage. It was noted that traditional tools often detect fraud too late, missing early signals present during login, account creation, or loyalty program interactions. 

Emerging techniques include Behavioural Analytics, which analyse subtle user behaviours such as typing speed, backspace use, and paste frequency to flag suspicious activity. Device Intelligence was also highlighted as a powerful signal, capable of detecting jailbroken devices, compromised browsers, or unusual configurations. 

With fraud becoming more sophisticated, early detection is no longer a secondary concern; it is becoming a strategic capability critical to operational efficiency and customer trust. 

The recent MRC event in Melbourne provided rich insights and practical takeaways for professionals across the payments and fraud prevention landscape. As the industry continues to evolve, collaboration, innovation, and early intervention will remain at the forefront. 

Looking forward to continuing the conversation in 2026. 

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Author: Bernadette Walsh, Marketing Partnerships Manager, Melbourne, Payments Consulting Network  

Bernadette’s diverse work experience has given her the opportunity to observe the different approaches to business and problem-solving, allowing her to develop a unique perspective on how to build relationships and solve problems. Her resourcefulness and willingness to think outside of the box have been invaluable assets in her ability to find creative solutions to complex problems.

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Payments Consulting Network was a media partner for MRC Melbourne as well as MRC’s flagship events in San Diego and Amsterdam. For further details on MRC’s conferences please visit their website or check out the conference events page on our website.  

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