(Image taken from webinar on Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021) MANILA - A recent study by a cybersecurity firm showed that financial technology (fintech) has been on the rise in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. "The pandemic accelerated the use of digital wallets. Consumers are heavily reliant on it because of the convenience, while businesses are digitizing operations," Chris Connell, Kaspersky APAC managing director, said in a webinar on Thursday. He said the demand for digital payments is quick and efficient, and people are seeing their payments in real-time. The study, "Mapping a secure path for the future of digital payments in APAC", had 1,618 respondents from across the region. It examined their attitudes towards digital payments, as well as the factors that encouraged them to adopt fintech. About 90 percent of Asian respondents had used mobile payment apps at least once in the past 12 months. The study bared that t