- Problem
- Apple Pay on the web stopped at Safari.
- Approach
- Let iPhone pay for any browser, by scanning a code.
- Outcome
- Shipped in iOS 18, with rewards and installments in the same sheet.
The problem
Apple Pay on the web worked in Safari. Everywhere else, people were back to typing a card number.
Shoppers in Chrome, Edge or Firefox, or on a Windows PC, had no way to reach the cards already on their iPhone.
“iOS 18 Enables You to Use Apple Pay With Chrome and More on Desktop”MacRumors headline, June 2024
What I learned
- 01
The iPhone already holds the card, the identity and Face ID. The computer only needs a way to reach it.
- 02
A code needs no account, no pairing and no special browser, so it works on Windows too.
- 03
How to pay, with points or in installments, is decided at the moment of paying, so it belongs in the same sheet.
Design decisions
Decision 1
A code on screen, not a sign-in.
Works in any browser on any computer, with nothing to install or link.
Trade-offA second device joins the flow, so both screens have to say clearly what’s happening.
Decision 2
Finish the payment on iPhone.
Confirmation happens where the card already lives, with Face ID or the side button.
Trade-offThe computer waits while the phone works, so its status has to stay honest and calm.
Decision 3
Rewards and installments inside the sheet.
People choose how to pay at the moment they pay, without leaving checkout.
Trade-offBanks and lenders decide eligibility, so options differ from person to person.
Trade-offs
Constraints
It needs an iPhone on iOS 18 or later and works only where Apple Pay is supported. Rewards and installments depend on the card issuer or lender, not on Apple, so the sheet has to explain a missing option without blaming anyone.
What it adds to the system
One payment sheet behaving the same in Safari, in apps and in other browsers: one confirmation model, one way to present payment options, and one set of status messages shared by the computer and the phone.
What shipped
- Any desktop browserChrome, Edge and Firefox, including on Windows, from iOS 18
- Rewards at checkoutEligible cards in the US, online and in apps
- InstallmentsOffered by lenders such as Affirm, online and in apps
Looking back
Apple keeps its numbers inside Apple, so this page sticks to what shipped publicly. I’m happy to walk through the process in conversation, within what I’m allowed to share.