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

iOS 26

iOS 26.4 Adds Two New Features to CarPlay

Tuesday March 24, 2026 1:55 pm PDT by
iOS 26.4 was released today, and it includes a couple of new features for CarPlay: an Ambient Music widget and support for voice-based chatbot apps. To update your iPhone 11 or newer to iOS 26.4, open the Settings app and tap on General → Software Update. CarPlay will automatically offer the new features so long as the iPhone connected to your vehicle is running iOS 26.4 or later....
Apple Business hero

Apple Unveils 'Apple Business' All-in-One Platform

Tuesday March 24, 2026 8:53 am PDT by
Apple today announced Apple Business, a new all-in-one platform that unifies device management, productivity tools, and customer outreach features. The service is designed to be a consolidated replacement for several of Apple's existing business-focused offerings, including Apple Business Essentials, Apple Business Manager, and Apple Business Connect. It provides organizations with a single...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 3, AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Tuesday March 24, 2026 12:31 pm PDT by
Apple today released new firmware for the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and the AirPods 4. The firmware has a version number of 8B39, up from 8B34 on the AirPods Pro 3, 8B28 on the AirPods Pro 2, and 8B21 on the AirPods 4. There is no word on what's included in the firmware, but Apple has a support document with limited notes. Most updates are limited to bug fixes and performance...