Technology

Clinkle, the payments startup that's generated financial backing from Silicon Valley investors and rampant speculation about its technology model, has hired a pair of Web technology veterans as it ramps up for a launch next year.

Several Canadian banks have taken on the challenge of managing and protecting their customers' usernames and passwords across banking and government sites. U.S. banks are invited to join a similar pilot starting in the U.S.

While Bitcoin sometimes gets a bad rap with law enforcement officials, the police chief of Vicco, Ky. will begin getting his salary in the digital currency.

Airtag has added PayPal as a payment option for consumers using the KFC Fast Track mobile wallet to order and purchase food in advance at the fast food chain's U.K. restaurants.

CO-OP Financial Services is upgrading its Sprig digital wallet to allow broader person-to-person payments, and is also adding mobile credit and debit card control and alert features.

Electronic payments provider ACI Worldwide named two new executives to its leadership team and is also establishing a new South America headquarters in Sao Paolo, Brazil.

With a goal of speeding up delivery of Near Field Communication-enabled handsets, China Mobile Limited has purchased EMV chip-card testing capabilities from Fime, as well as received a license to begin operating a new, fourth-generation wireless network.

Coinplug, a startup Bitcoin merchant services and trading platform being developed for the Korean market, has received $400,000 in funding from Cupertino, Calif.-based Silverblue Inc.

Joe Proto, a payments executive and founder of several technology companies, is the new board chairman at prepaid card marketer The SpendSmart Co.

Mobile technology builder C-Sam has created a version of its mobile app development platform that's preconfigured with MasterPass specifications for financial institutions and processors to more easily build custom versions of MasterCard's digital wallet.