iOS 18 will let you use Apple Pay on any browser on any PC
Apple Pay has always been limited to just Apple mobile devices and Safari on the Mac. With iOS 18, however, Apple is expanding its popular payment process so that you'll be able to use it in a lot more places.
In a WWDC 2024 developer session on Thursday spotted by MacRumors, Apple revealed the latest upcoming updates to Apple Pay on the web. With iOS 18 installed on your iPhone, you'll be able to use Apple Pay in non-Safari browsers such as Chrome, Edge, and Firefox both on Macs and Windows PCs.
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Here's how this will work.
Let's say you're purchasing items at a retail website using a non-Safari browser. You see the Apple Pay button at the checkout page, but you can't directly use it to pay for your items. Clicking the button will display a code that you scan with the camera on your iOS 18-enabled iPhone. You can then finish paying directly on your iPhone.
Of course, the website needs to support Apple Pay as a payment method. This means the website's developer will have to work with the latest Apple SDK to set up the process, which the WWDC session explains in detail.
Since iOS 18 is currently available as a developer beta, this type of support is likely to take a while to catch on. Once it does, however, you'll no longer be restricted to where and how you can use Apple Pay.
Launched in 2014, Apple Pay has become a popular and ubiquitous form of payment among Apple users, both online and at physical stores. Over the years, Apple has added new Apple Pay features and expanded support for additional countries, banks, and retailers.
Also: How to use Apple Pay in stores and online
As an iPhone owner, I use Apple Pay in most situations where I would've otherwise used cash or a credit card. I find it especially handy to use it with Apple Wallet to pay for subway and other transit fare, both in the US and in Europe.
Apple plans to release iOS 18 sometime in the fall, at which time we should see more websites set up access for the new Apple Pay on the web.
