How to Pay for Things Online Using Apple Pay on Your Mac - MacRumors
Skip to Content

How to Pay for Things Online Using Apple Pay on Your Mac

by

This article walks you through the typical transaction process that's used to buy things online with Apple Pay when browsing on a Mac. Once you've set up Apple Pay on your Mac and familiarized yourself with it, there's a good chance it will become your preferred payment option for online purchases because it's so convenient. You can use it wherever you see the ‌Apple Pay‌ symbol.

Mac Apple Pay
‌Apple Pay‌‌ transactions are authorized on your Mac using the Touch ID sensor on your MacBook Air or MacBook Pro. If you have an older Mac that doesn't feature a ‌‌Touch ID‌‌ sensor, you can still use ‌‌Apple Pay‌‌ to buy things online, but you'll have to use the cards stored in the Wallet app on your ‌iPhone‌ or ‌Apple Watch‌. The second set of steps shows you how this works.

How to Use Apple Pay on Macs With a Touch ID Sensor

  1. Open Safari on your Mac.
  2. Visit an online merchant that accepts ‌Apple Pay‌ as a payment method on the web.
  3. Find the merchandise or service that you want to buy and progress the order to the checkout process.
  4. Select ‌Apple Pay‌ as your payment method (it's usually displayed as a black button that says "Buy with ‌Apple Pay‌").
  5. Check that your shipping and billing information is correct in the ‌Apple Pay‌ dropdown pane.
  6. Place your registered finger on the ‌Touch ID‌ sensor at the top-right corner of your MacBook's keyboard to authenticate the transaction.
    macbookprotouchid

How to Use Apple Pay on Macs Without a Touch ID Sensor

  1. Open Safari on your Mac.
  2. Visit an online merchant that accepts ‌Apple Pay‌ as a payment method on the web.
  3. Find the merchandise or service that you want to buy and progress the order to the checkout process.
  4. Select ‌Apple Pay‌ as your payment method (it's usually displayed as a black button that says "Buy with ‌Apple Pay‌").
  5. Check that your shipping and billing information is correct in the ‌Apple Pay‌ dropdown pane.
  6. Pick up your iPhone or raise whichever wrist your Apple Watch is worn on.
    applepayweb

  7. If your iPhone has a Home button, place your Touch ID-registered finger on it to authenticate the transaction. If your iPhone has Face ID, double-press the Side button to authenticate with your face. If you're wearing Apple Watch, press the Side button on it to pay with ‌Apple Pay‌.

That's all there is to it. Note that to complete your purchase using ‌iPhone‌ or ‌Apple Watch, they must be signed in with the same Apple ID as on your Mac.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay

Popular Stories

Apple Pay Walmart Feature

Walmart to Begin Accepting Apple Pay in U.S. Stores

Friday August 21, 2026 7:09 am PDT by
After years of holding out, Walmart today announced that it will finally begin accepting tap-to-pay options like Apple Pay in some of its Walmart and Sam's Club stores in the U.S. starting Monday, August 24. The retailer plans to roll out tap-to-pay support to all of its U.S. stores by the end of 2026 and to its gas stations by mid-2027. "We want customers and members to have choice in how...
Apple National Parks

Apple Pay Supporting U.S. National Park Foundation Over the Next Week

Friday August 21, 2026 8:52 am PDT by
Now through August 28, Apple will donate $10 to the National Park Foundation for every purchase made in the U.S. using Apple Pay on Apple.com, in the Apple Store app, or at an Apple Store, up to a maximum of $1 million. In addition, the annual U.S. national parks Apple Watch Activity Challenge returns on Sunday, August 23 this...
iphone duo

Apple Announces Foldable 'iPhone Duo'

Wednesday September 9, 2026 10:56 am PDT by
Apple today announced the "iPhone Duo," a new kind of iPhone featuring two screens and a foldable inner display. The two halves of the iPhone Duo connect into a single continuous frame with the same aspect ratio across both displays, and Apple said the transition between open and closed is designed to feel fluid. When fully open, Apple says it is the thinnest iPhone ever made, with an...