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IndustryUpdate

while keeping humans responsible for critical decisions. fake attacks and cited research predicting 100 billion
The roadmap begins with a context-aware AI agent identity checks will be conducted globally this year,
that answers natural-language questions about vulner- with one in every 100 failed checks involving a deep-
abilities, firmware, software bills of materials and other fake. According to LexisNexis, fraudsters are increas-
security data. Later phases will allow organizations to ingly using fake documents, images and videos to create
integrate ONEKEY's security intelligence into enter- or hijack accounts for financial crimes. The company
prise AI systems and workflows, assist with vulnerabil- recommends combining document authentication, bio-
ity prioritization and decision-making, and ultimately metric liveness detection and real-time fraud analysis to
automate operational tasks such as report preparation, identify increasingly realistic deepfakes while minimiz-
configuration and comparative analysis. ONEKEY said ing customer friction.
transparency, traceability, permissions and human over-
sight remain central to its approach, positioning AI as
decision support, not a replacement for security profes- Americans scale back summer trips
sionals. redirect funds toward necessities

RESEARCH Rising living costs are prompting many Americans to
scale back summer travel, according to a survey of 1,075
U.S. consumers conducted by Omnisend. While 59 per-
BHN annual study highlights cent plan to travel this summer, only 17 percent expect
digital gift card opportunities to take a major trip involving flights or paid lodging.
Instead, many are choosing shorter trips, day outings
Blackhawk Network released its 2026 Best Direct Digital or staying home. Nearly half (47 percent) said they have
Gift Cards Benchmark Report, highlighting opportuni- postponed, shortened or canceled travel because of costs,
ties for brands to improve digital gift card programs as citing fuel, groceries and lodging expenses. Savings from
AI increasingly influences shopping behavior. The study reduced travel are increasingly being redirected toward
of 120 brands across the United States and Canada found necessities, including groceries, housing costs and debt
that only 61 percent met AI search criteria and just 5 per- repayment, rather than discretionary purchases.
cent offered AI-powered gifting recommendations. The
report also identified opportunities to improve person- Fragmentation tops concerns for cross-border payments
alization, mobile experiences, year-round marketing and PayDo's analysis of several hundred business clients
omnichannel engagement. BHN said optimizing digital found that one in two companies overpays by as much
gift card programs for AI discovery, flexible delivery as 20 percent on the total cost of cross-border payments
and customer experience will help brands capitalize on because of fragmented payment infrastructure. The com-
the growing global gift card market, projected to reach pany attributed the added expense to intermediary fees,
$1.7 trillion by 2030. wider foreign exchange spreads, reconciliation work
and delayed settlement. According to the analysis, inter-
Hospitality's shift to self-service nationally trading businesses typically manage 10 to 20
transforming POS's role payment provider relationships, with nearly one-third
using five or more providers for collections alone. PayDo
Castles Technology published a white paper examining also found that about two-thirds of technology compa-
how self-service technology is transforming payment nies joining its platform cited fragmentation, rather than
infrastructure across the hospitality industry. The report pricing, as their primary reason for consolidating pay-
said Android-based POS platforms are replacing legacy ment providers.
systems, enabling integrated ordering, payments and
operational workflows. Castles noted that self-service Real-time data central to improving
technology can increase customer spending by up to payments performance
20 percent while demand for cashless payments, digital
wallets and integrated business systems continues to A survey of 250 senior payments and fintech leaders by
grow. The paper also highlights the impact of mobile Silverflow found growing agreement that real-time data
POS, kiosks and connected payment systems across res- is key to improving payments performance. Ninety-two
taurants and hotels and offers guidance for evaluating percent of respondents said data visibility is important
next-generation POS platforms, security and payments. to business decision-making, while 64 percent called
it extremely important. Accessing real-time data was
LNRS warns of escalating identified as the industry's biggest challenge, followed
AI-powered deepfake attacks closely by integrating data across systems. Respondents
citing real-time data as their top obstacle were signifi-
LexisNexis Risk Solutions is warning organizations to cantly more likely to rank improving authorization rates
strengthen identity verification as AI-generated deep- as their highest priority.
fake fraud becomes more sophisticated. The company
reported a 180 percent year-over-year increase in deep-

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