How to Add Apple Pay to Shopify: Your Step-by-Step Guide

Once upon a time, visiting a Shopify store—or any ecommerce outlet—meant that customers had to drag out their wallets. It was a cumbersome process. Browse an online store, pull out the credit card, enter in 16 digits into the payment gateway, and hope that you didn’t get one wrong.

And from a business perspective, this was a horrible way to do things. After all, reducing buyer friction should be the name of the game.

That’s why it can pay to enable Apple Pay with Shopify. Rather than forcing customers to do a math problem, they can simply use their iPhone or iPad and move forward with the purchase.

But with Apple Pay, the convenience factor improves about 10X. Heck, even displaying an Apple Pay button on your checkout page might encourage your Apple Pay customers to check out. After all, they’ll know how low-friction the process will be.

From your end, this doesn’t change much. You don’t have to convert anything for iOS users, or write new HTML for customers using a Mac. Beginners with Shopify can even add Apple pay to their Shopify store. But that still leaves one question: how? Here’s what you’ll need to know about adding Apple Pay to Shopify.

What is Apple Pay?

If you’re already familiar with Apple devices—heck, if you’re wearing an Apple Watch as we speak—then you might skip tot he next section. But before we add Apple Pay to your Shopify store, it will help to know what it is you’re getting into.

The traditional definition of Apple Pay looks a bit like this:

Apple Pay is an online payment system and digital wallet for Apple users. This system allows customers with Apple devices to quickly and simply check out with online purchases. Because it’s often faster than credit cards or cash, checking out with Apple Pay is often the preference of Apple customers.

It’s not hard to see how this might help out your Shopify store’s checkout process. The more styles of payment you can accept, the wide the range of customers you can work with.

But that’s not the only reason to use Apple Pay. One reason customers use Apple Pay to begin with: security.

Apple Pay lets users verify their ID with fingerprint scanning technology, known as Touch ID. Alternatively, customers can use Face ID to scan their faces.

This results in better security, even while the process of verifying your ID is actually easier. For Apple users, they can press their finger or hold up their device, and—voila. They’re done.

The net result? Apple Pay users who view your checkout page will feel more secure, will feel more comfortable paying, and they’ll know that it’s going to be a heck of a lot easier than entering their credit card information. With Apple Pay, they’ve already taken care of the credit card and debit card stuff.

From your end, this is nothing but a net benefit. After all, if it makes customers happier to pay you, including Apple Pay on your Shopify store is only going to boost business. But let’s get more specific about the benefits of adding Apple Pay.

Why Use Apple Pay on Your Shopify Store?

The most obvious reason: you’ll capture more Apple customers who want to buy from you. But let’s dive into the deeper, more specific reasons you should go through this setup:

• Enhanced trust. In the section above, we talked briefly about Apple Pay’s security features. A customer can scan a fingerprint or use Face ID to verify their identity. They know that when they use Apple Pay, there’s that extra layer of security for every purchase. This, in turn, enhances the trust in your store. After all, if you accept Apple Pay, then you’re inherently adopting those same security practices. And the beauty of these security features is that they don’t add any friction to the purchase.
• Easing buying friction. Ever wonder why grocery stores put out candy in the checkout aisles? It’s because it’s the easiest time to make an additional purchase—right when the wallet is out. With Apple Pay, the work of low-friction purchases is done for you. The customers have already added their financial information to Apple Pay. When they purchase from you, they don’t have to drag their wallet out a second time. That makes it easier to make a buying decision.
• Easy installation. Even if Apple Pay were a nightmare to install, the reasons above would make it worth it. But here’s the beauty: Apple Pay is easy to set up. Shopify is happy to let you accept Apple Pay on your store. We’ll get more into those details in just a moment.
• A lot of people use Apple Pay. Consider that in the U.S. alone, some 200 million people use Apple’s products. If you don’t accept Apple Pay, what does that say about your store? For one, it says you haven’t really sit down to think about what your customers want. Putting Apple Pay up on your store is like rolling out a giant, 200 million-person sized welcome mat.
• Making it easier to buy on mobile. In the U.S., even more people use mobile phones than use Apple Products: over 250 million. If your store isn’t an easy payment option when browsing on a phone, you’re missing out on an enormous segment. Today’s retailers optimize the mobile experience because they know how critical it is for their business. And with Apple Pay, much of that mobile payment experience is already done for you. After all, Apple has already thought through how to make mobile payments easier on customers. You simply have to accept Apple Pay.
• Improving conversion rates. With online marketing, converting visitors to customers is the name of the game. With Apple Pay, you can potentially lower the rate at which customers abandon their carts. Common checkout issues, like long load times or security concerns, are simply wiped out when you enable Apple Pay. This decreases cart abandonment, improving your net conversions. In turn, every marketing dollar you spend is more likely to come back to you with enhanced conversions.

What Shopify Needs Before You Set Up Apple Pay

Convinced already? Ready to set up Apple Pay? To kick off the process, let’s talk about what Shopify is going to need from you if you’re setting up Apple Pay.

First, you have to use one of the following payment providers or payment processor tools:

• Shopify Payments
• Stripe
• First Data Payeezy
• Authorize.net
• CyberSource
• Braintree

Second, you need an activated SSL certificate on your Shopify store domain. You can find more information about how to do that with Shopify here.

Third, you need to get right with Apple. That means your Shopify store has to follow Apple’s Acceptable Use guidelines.

It might look like a lot, but if you’re already accepting Stripe or Shopify Payments—which is common for Shopify stores—then you’re almost good to go. And setting up an SSL certificate with your Shopify store is easy and convenient. In fact, most of these steps are standard practices at Shopify.

Once you’re sure you have these requirements in place, you’re ready to go to the next step. Shopify makes it easy to add Apple Pay. In fact, it’s so easy that we can tell you exactly how to do it using either Desktop, iPhone, or Android.

How to Add Apple Pay to Shopify (Desktop)

Visit your Shopify admin page. Next, go to Settings -> Payments.

You’ll see a section which lets you look at your credit card payment provider. Click Manage.

Under the Wallets section, you should notice an option for Apple Pay. Select it. Next, click Save.

Yep, that was really it.

One reason it’s so easy to do? Shopify and Apple Pay want people to be able to handle payments this way. Everything is already arranged for you. From Shopify’s end, a link with Apple Pay makes it possible to capture more customers. Plus, a lot of Shopify stores want the ability to use Apple Pay. From Apple Pay’s end, the whole idea is to encourage widespread adoption. The link with Shopify is simply a matter of doing two things:

• Having the requisite security features in place (see the section above)
• Enabling Apple Pay within your Shopify settings

How to Add Apple Pay to Shopify (iPhone)

The process of setting up Apple Pay while browsing your mobile phone is similar, but because of the slightly-different navigation, it helps to know how to approach it. Here’s what to do if you’re using an iPhone to manage your Shopify store.

Once the save has gone through, you might consider using your phone to give it a test. Visit an individual product’s checkout page and look for the Apple Pay prompt.

How to Add Apple Pay to Shopify (Android)

The beauty of Apple Pay? You don’t have to be an Apple customer to understand the power of this payment processor. You may prefer Google Pay yourself. But if you want to capture more people browsing your store with a Macbook, for example, it helps to know how to activate Apple Pay, even if you’re using an Android phone.

The process is similar to the above, since you’ll rely on the Shopify app. First, open up the Shopify App.

To verify, you can use a similar process to the iPhone test. With Shopify, the step-by-step process for setting up Apple Pay with Android is the exact same as it is for the iPhone, since in both cases, you’re using the Shopify App. But how do you verify whether you’re ready to accept Apple Pay? Browse to a product. You should notice that there’s now a button where you can see the Apple Pay logo. Tap the button and make sure that it prompts you for information. Of course, you’re using an Android phone, so you won’t go through with it. But you’ll see just how easy it can be to set up Apple Pay with just a few taps of a phone.

What Customers Will See When They Use Apple Pay on Your Shopify Store

Once you have Apple Pay set up on your store, a payment button will appear with the Apple Pay logo on it. This will likely be on the same product checkout page as the product pricing. The customer can then either click or tap it (depending on of their using a computer or smartphone).

Once an Apple Pay customer taps the button—or clicks it—they’ll see their information appear. For example, their shipping/billing information will pop up, if they already added that to their Apple Pay wallet. Then the other information related to the order will pop up. This includes taxes, shipping rates, and the cost of the overall order.

If the customer is using an iPhone or an iPad device, they will get a prompt when they click to order. This prompt will be a purchase confirmation—a security gateway. This asks them to use the Touch ID on their device.

It’s similar with a Mac or Macbook, if the Touch ID is present. However, not all Mac products will have the Touch ID.

A customer can also connect an Apple device to their Mac computer to use the Touch ID. They’ll have to link the device with the computer via Bluetooth, connect with the same iCloud account, and verify that it’s them.

Are There More Ways of Accepting Apple Pay at Your Store?

Do the steps above and you’ll have a recipe for a more capable Shopify store. It doesn’t matter if you’re using dropshipping, for example—as long as you have the infrastructure in place, you will make sure that your customer doesn’t have to enter a card number to complete the checkout experience. But what if you need people to handle Apple Pay in other ways? Is it really all about using the computer or smartphone in this specific instance?

There are a few other options you can consider here. For instance, it’s possible to use Apple Pay with Shopify’s PoS services to handle Apple Pay in person. That’s right—it can create a contactless experience, which many people found out during the pandemic. Rather than pull out a Visa or MasterCard, a customer can use their phone to handle the authentication of the payment. The payment information will go through as though the customer swiped a credit card. This is great for any Shopify stores that do have a brick-and-mortar presence.

Another option is Apple Pay Cash. With Apple Pay Cash—activated in your payment settings—customers can use an Apple Pay Cash card with their iPhone or Apple Watch. Again, this is an easy addition to your Shopify store, and makes it possible that you’ll capture more customers. The more customers you can cater to with ease, the easier it will be to make sales at the point of purchase.

What Else Should You Know About Apple Pay and Shopify?

You should have enough now to begin accepting payment details via Apple Pay. There isn’t a specific complicated Shopify Tutorial you have to take—you can simply make sure you meet the requirements, then enable Apple Pay from your shop’s settings. But are there more things you might want to know about? If so, we’ll fill them in here.

For starters, how will you know when someone made an order via Apple Pay? You’ll see the last four numbers of the customers’ Apple Pay device account—but not the credit card numbers themselves. That’s one reason why many customers like using Apple Pay, as it makes it an easier way to remain secure while transacting online. In fact, you might use this added benefit as an example of why customers should feel more trusting with your shop.

Additionally, Apple Pay payments are not processed in a significantly different way compared to other transactions coming in. The transaction fees you pay will remain the same, as Apple Pay won’t put any additional fees on top of what’s charged to the card.

Apple Pay may sound complicated, but when you get down to it, it can be one of the simplest ways to make and accept payments online. Make sure you have it all set up the right way, and you’ll be able to start accepting Apple Pay payments on your own Shopify store—which can help you grow as a business.