Apple is apparently gearing up to take its mobile payments system to the next level by integrating the service with its Safari browser on the latest iPhones and iPads.
This means users whose devices include Touch ID scanning technology will be able to make Apple Pay purchases from mobile websites. At the current time, the system works with third-party apps that support the service and is also accepted at a growing number of brick-and-mortar stores.
The Cupertino company plans to expand its mobile payments service to websites “later this year,” sources with knowledge of the matter informed Re/code this week, and the company has already been notifying partners about the plan.
It’s also suggested the payments service could soon come to Apple’s range of laptop and desktop computers, though the sources seemed less certain on this point. But with Apple known to have secured a fingerprint-scanner patent for laptops, and the company obviously keen to increase usage of its payments service, many expect it’s only a matter of time before it arrives.
The reported move to bring Apple Pay to mobile sites would mean greater convenience for customers who don’t want to download an app, or where an app doesn’t yet support the service. It seems like a natural step for Apple to take, and would improve convenience for mobile shoppers, some of whom may not yet be using Apple Pay but are open to the idea.
Re/code notes that taking Apple Pay to mobile sites would help the company compete more effectively with online payments giant PayPal, which has long offered a simple checkout solution for customers shopping at online retail sites.
With Apple Pay helping to lock more users into the iOS ecosystem, and the company taking a cut of every purchase made using its Apple Pay technology, the tech firm is reportedly keen to get the service up and running for mobile sites before this year’s holiday shopping season kicks off.
It’s possible an announcement about the plan could come during its WWDC event in June.
Apple Pay is currently offered to iPhone and iPad users in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, and China. More countries are planned for later this year.
