iPhones or Apple Watches that have already Apple Pay installed can be easily used to purchase products and services on the web. The only difference is in the way a transaction gets authorization on the Mac.
Usually, on iOS, to complete a transaction the user places a finger on the Touch ID sensor to authenticate and complete the transaction. On the Mac, the process is a little different. Because Macs don’t have Touch ID sensors, payment authorization cant take place using Mac hardware. Instead, the merchant can check if there is an iPhone or Apple Watch that can be used to authenticate the sale by using the Apple Pay API. When the transaction takes place users see a momentary spinner and then are asked to complete the sale using an iPhone or Apple Watch if a device is available.
When Apple Pay is used to make a purchase on Mac in Safari, Apple Pay transfers purchase information in an encrypted format between Mac and the iOS device or Apple Watch to complete a transaction.
Merchants that want to deploy Apple Pay on their sites can do so by signing up for an Apple Developer account and getting the necessary encryption certificates. Or, online commerce companies like Shopify that have announced support for Apple Pay on the web, can handle the certificates and developer accounts for merchants who dont want to deal with that.
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