10.18.18 Your morning briefing

The information you need to start your day, from PaymentsSource and around the Web:

Anticipating PSD2 in the U.S.
PSD2 is is expected to have global impact, forcing banks to build new technology to accommodate data-sharing between banks and fintechs such as mobile payment providers.

To get in front of a possible regulatory move in the U.S., BBVA has launched its open banking platform in the U.S., using APIs to connect with third parties. Products include account-to-account transfers, identity verification, account origination and card issuance. Third parties use the APIs to connect to BBVA to support their own financial services without screen scraping.

BBVA has already plugged the API into Simple, its Portland-based challenger bank, and will shortly introduce the open banking platform more widely.

Angel Navarrete/Bloomberg

Pay on a Curve
Curve's all-in-one card will soon add support for some third-party mobile wallets, though the timing is still uncertain.

Curve says it's planning to add Apple Pay and Google Pay "soon." Curve is using Mastercard's network and its own technology to tackle the all-in-one card market, where a lot of other startups have failed over the years.

Blockchain news
The Civil Media company is refunding investors from its cryptocurrency sale to support its blockchain-supported news distribution model.

TechCrunch reports Civil's ICO hoped to raise between $8 million and $24 million in a sale of its cryptocurrency, called CVL, which would be used to support payments and other distribution needs for the decentralized digital newsroom. The company sold about $1.4 million in CVL tokens, with other buyers registering but not completing transactions.

Civil plans to launch another, "simpler" ICO, and its existing media partnerships with the Associated Press and Forbes will continue, according to TechCrunch.

Order around
Restaurant technology company Apptizer is trying to drastically reduce reliance on wait staff through an app that combines order ahead and self-service.

Called Order.Eat.Pay, the feature enables consumers to order food and drinks from an app while seated at their table, then pick up their food and remotely pay.

While large restaurant chains and quick serve chains have myriad mobile self-serve apps and payments innovations to choose from, Order.Eat.Pay says it's aiming for smaller to mid-sized restaurants, where there's less mobile technology available.

From the Web

Singapore e-wallet NetsPay in talks with Tencent’s WeChat Pay for cross-border payments
South China Morning Post | Wed October 17, 2018 - Singapore electronic payments provider Nets is in talks with Tencent Holdings’ WeChat Pay to allow users of its NetsPay digital wallet to make mobile payments in mainland China, according to people familiar with the discussions.

Malaysia to Spain: Asian FinTech Completes Ripple Blockchain API Payment
CCN | Wed October 17, 2018 - A central-bank approved Malaysian Fintech startup that has specializes in international money transfers has completed its first cross-border transfer on RippleNet, Ripple’s enterprise blockchain platform using an API solution. With a payment from Malaysia to Spain, Kuala Lumpur-based MoneyMatch has completed its first cross-border blockchain transaction.

Can This Blockchain-Based Fintech Disrupt International Payments After $30M Exchange IPO?
Forbes | Wed October 17, 2018 - Australian fintech company Identitii that enables the secure overlay of “transaction-level” detail on top of financial messages using a private blockchain, commenced trading on the Australian Stock Exchange in an initial public offering (IPO) that put a market capitalization of A$41 million (c$29.23 million) on the business.

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