Online shopping via iPhone and iPad currently requires the use of the Safari browser to support Apple Pay, a situation that may change later this year. The website MacRumors reported that Apple plans to make Apple Pay support Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome browsers, and has begun testing.
Secretly tested on iOS 16
MacRumors found that in the recently released iOS 16 Beta 4 version to developers, the Apple Pay option that originally only appeared in Safari can also be used in Edge and Chrome, and consumers who prefer to pay with Apple Pay do not have to be forced to use Safari to make purchases. After carefully checking the comments and sharing of other netizens, two netizens said in the Reddit discussion area earlier that they can make Apple Pay payments with the Firefox browser in iOS 16 Beta 2 and Beta 3.
or related to new EU law
This reflects that Apple has been secretly testing third-party browsers to support Apple Pay for some time, but other browsers on macOS have never been able to support it. MacRumors estimates that it is because Apple specifies that the iOS versions of Chrome, Edge and Firefox must use the WebKit rendering engine. macOS, on the other hand, allows developers to use other engines. As for opening Apple Pay to other browsers, it is said that the “Digital Markets Act” with the European Union aimed at cracking down on anti-competitive behavior by large companies will take effect next spring, and Apple is forced to make changes to avoid punishment.
Source: theverge