Apple Pay will soon be available for use within the Safari mobile web browser, according to multiple sources close to Apple, a move that should simplify and speed up the online checkout process.
The company has been working on the integration for over a year, and has explored adding the mobile wallet to the desktop and laptop version of Safari, sources told Quartz. But it will first come to the mobile version. The feature is expected to be announced later this year at WWDC, Apple’s annual developer conference.
Apple Pay already works within many apps, but its availability on the mobile web could further help with online sales conversions. Mobile transactions often falter because putting in payment and shipping information on a small device can be clunky. With Apple Pay, a user could simply use the fingerprint sensor. That would help reduce cart abandonment—when consumers give up on an online purchase—Brian Roemmele, noted payments analyst and founder of Payfinders, told Quartz.
The move also puts Apple into further competition with PayPal, which is often offered as a payment option on apps and websites. In December, Quartz and other outlets reported Apple’s interest in peer-to-peer money transfer, similar to PayPal’s Venmo app.
“For Apple Pay to get broader distribution, it would make sense to move Apple Pay to other platforms, similar to the iTunes cross-platform strategy. A successful digital wallet removes friction from transactions, and one way to do that is to make it available on different platforms,” Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster told Quartz.
Re/Code first reported that Apple Pay will be added to Safari’s mobile browser, and said it should arrive by the holiday shopping season.