Apple Pay on the Web: why we’re so excited about it.

Last night Apple announced that Apple Pay was coming to the Web. The announcement was squashed between an updated Siri and tabs on your macOS windows in a jam packed keynote, blink and you’d have missed it.

But in the slide of partners for the launch of the feature, there we were! Deliveroo is one of the chosen few brands working with Apple in the UK (and then further afield) to offer Apple Pay to our Web users.

So why do we think this is so exciting?

The Web, here at Deliveroo, is our oldest platform. It’s a bit more creaky than the newer, shinier iOS and now Android apps, but a team of us, including a small bunch of militant ex Government Digital Service employees, believe strongly that when Web is given the tools it can strongly compete with the more sexy platforms of native apps.

We’re charged with turning Web into a platform that feels every bit as powerful and modern as our other consumer platforms, and – unfashionable as it may seem – we believe we can do it. The barriers to Web are lower for users anyway (no app installs, instant access from the most basic of links) – the experience of actually using it just needs to match the ease of finding it.

This move by Apple represents confidence in Web the likes of which we rarely see from the tech giants of the West coast – Facebook famously attempting then dropping HTML5 as their tech of choice for their own mobile apps a few years back. In a world where some of the biggest names in consumer tech barely (Spotify) or don’t (Uber*) have a web version of their products this is exciting to see.

What’s more, this technology will really help us. Nothing is more important, for your average vanilla e-commerce site, than a smooth checkout experience. For a site that deals almost exclusively with people who are hungry and expect food in as little as 10 minutes, that need is even more important.

I can’t go into detail about exactly what our plans are for our Apple Pay integration, but let’s just say that filling in forms, the bane of any mobile device user experience, may become a thing of the past. Completely.

It’s safe to say we’re excited about this. We’re excited about the Web. Soon you may see why.

Do you love the Web? We’re hiring product designers and engineers who believe, as we do, in the power of the internet. Go to https://deliveroo.co.uk/careers to get involved.

[*Correction (thanks Dave Ganly) — Uber does have a mobile web product. But for both Spotify and Uber (and many others) web seems to be a secondary consideration.]