Why is it so important for Apple to launch a web version of Apple Pay?

As Apple's mobile payment service, Apple Pay currently has two usage modes: offline contactless payment and online in-app payment. At this year's WWDC conference, Apple announced its intention to expand the scope of use of Apple Pay to mobile web pages. The web version of Apple Pay will be officially launched with the macOS system this fall. The subsequent integration of Apple Pay with the web will make payment simple and be able to compete directly with PayPal.

You may be curious about why Apple is eager to port Apple Pay to desktop devices when its functions and features are not yet complete. Moreover, using Apple Pay on desktop devices should not be as convenient as using Apple Pay on mobile devices.

In fact, Apple did not make this decision on impulse, but the total transaction volume processed by online payment platforms made Apple feel that they had to launch the web version of Apple Pay. Data from market research company Statista shows that whether it is Apple Pay or other mobile online payment methods, the needs of desktop users should not be ignored.

Data released by Statista shows that by 2020, the total transaction volume of business-to-consumer e-commerce will reach US$791 billion, which is almost three times the mobile wallet POS payment market and 20 times the peer-to-peer transfer service market.

However, Apple still has a lot of work to do to expand and develop the web version of Apple Pay: Apple Pay will only support the Safari browser, but browsers including Chrome (which has a market share of up to 60%) have been ignored by Apple. It is not known when Apple will add support for these browsers.

In fact, a previous survey showed that even though there is a trend among consumers to shop through mobile devices and users spend a longer time using mobile devices, most of the time they spend money on shopping is done on desktop devices.

One of the main reasons for this huge gap is that entering credit card numbers and shipping details is a very painful process on mobile phones, whether on mobile web pages or apps. It is easier to complete these operations on large-screen desktop devices. Payment services such as Apple Pay have helped users skip many steps in their partner apps and automatically fill in this information for users. The launch of the web version of Apple Pay will reduce the proportion of users spending money on shopping on desktop and mobile devices.

When Apple releases the web version of Apple Pay this fall, at least 21 of the top 100 e-commerce companies will support it. In addition, another 10 large e-commerce companies will "soon" cooperate with Apple Pay. It is expected that the web version of Apple Pay will be easier to integrate into the e-commerce system and will be supported by more retailers. Analysts believe that due to the increasing competition from Apple Pay, PayPal may be in trouble during this year's Christmas sales season.