Apple Pay occasionally stalls: window appears but then sometimes doesn't execute payment

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95 points

Apple Pay occasionally stalls: window appears but then sometimes doesn't execute payment

Most of the time, when I'm using Safari on my Mac, it will happily use Apple Pay on my iPhone 16 Pro for payment .

Irritatingly, about 20% of the time, Apple Pay stalls. I get the Apple Pay window, the 'processing' circle rotates briefly - and then disappears, leaving the Apple Pay window doing nothing. It is not tied to any particular website, and choosing a different card makes no difference.

The only workaround is to restart the Mac. I've tried reloading the web-page, relaunching Safari, and logging out of my account, but none of those make any difference - it takes a restart. I had similar problems when running macOS14, and on my previous iPhone.

Oddly, I can try again the next day, and Apple Pay might work, even on the same website.

My software is up-to-date: I'm running Safari 18.3 on an M2 Mac mini running macOS15.3

Mac mini, macOS 15.3

Posted on Feb 9, 2025 2:25 AM

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Answer 1

dowsmith Author

Level 1

95 points

Feb 18, 2025 3:58 PM in response to Jeff Donald

I've found a work-around!

Bizarrely, if I move the tab with a misbehaving Apple Pay link to a different Safari window, it then works as normal.

No idea why, but has worked twice in a row on different days and for different websites.

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Answer 2

Jeff Donald

Level 8

44,880 points

Feb 9, 2025 7:37 AM in response to dowsmith

It’s likely the connection to iPhone failed or was too slow at some point. I’ve experienced the same issue occasionally. Using an iPhone is just a workaround convenience. I suspect if you were using Touch ID on an Apple Keyboard you’d have fewer issues.

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Answer 3

Jeff Donald

Level 8

44,880 points

Feb 10, 2025 5:08 AM in response to dowsmith

Restarting an iPhone or Mac refresh various network connections. I suspect that’s all it is. You might want to open a post in the Mac community and see if anyone there has a suggestion or two.

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Answer 4

dowsmith Author

Level 1

95 points

Feb 9, 2025 7:02 AM in response to Jeff Donald

I'm trying to use my iPhone to confirm - but it isn't being triggered.

On the occasions when it DOESN'T work (and usually it does), I'm left with the Apple Pay dialog showing in Safari, but with nothing happening. Is there anything I can do at that point to garner further info on why it isn't proceeding?

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Answer 5

dowsmith Author

Level 1

95 points

Feb 10, 2025 12:35 AM in response to Jeff Donald

Thank you for your input.

If the process simply stalled on my first attempt, and then worked, I would have assumed that it was a temporary glitch.

The fact that I have to restart my Mac to get it to work makes we suspect something else is going wrong.

I haven't been able to find any other posts about intermittent failure.

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Answer 6

Jeff Donald

Level 8

44,880 points

Feb 9, 2025 4:14 AM in response to dowsmith

Trouble shooting something like that after the fact is almost impossible. Are you using Touch ID or using your iPhone to confirm?

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Apple Pay occasionally stalls: window appears but then sometimes doesn't execute payment

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