Here’s the Link Between Ripple (XRP) and Apple Pay

When web users tap "Buy Now," they might not realize the heavy technical lifting behind that simple click. Under the hood, payment standards and protocols built behind the scenes shape whether money flows smoothly from card or crypto to merchants. The hidden interplay between open-payment standards and wallet ecosystems is quietly reshaping how digital value moves online.

In a post on X, SMQKE brought to public attention a lesser-known connection: the work initiated by Ripple through its open-rail protocol suite and how that work influenced web payment standards adopted by W3C — standards now used by Apple Pay.

This bridging hints at an underappreciated legacy: technologies born in crypto infrastructure may now enable everyday web payments.

Origins of Interledger and Ripple’s Role

The roots go back to 2015, when Ripple engineers — including co-creators Stefan Thomas and Evan Schwartz — introduced the Interledger Protocol (ILP). ILP was built to link different ledgers — from traditional banks to blockchains — allowing seamless value transfers across otherwise isolated systems.

After its release, Ripple contributed ILP to W3C’s Community Group for wider development, aiming to turn it into an open standard for payments across the web. Rather than keeping ILP purely within crypto rails, the intention was universal interoperability.

From Protocol to Browser: Payment Request API

On the other side sits the web’s standard interface for triggering payments: the Payment Request API. This API enables websites to present a consistent checkout interface — one that can integrate multiple payment methods. As of 2018, browsers like Safari have implemented the API for Apple Pay.

When a merchant uses the Payment Request API with Apple Pay, the browser constructs a Payment Request object listing supported methods. If Apple Pay is available, the browser presents the familiar Apple Pay sheet. Safari’s implementation treats Apple Pay as a payment method under the Payment Request umbrella.

How Ripple’s Work Feeds Into Web Payments

Saying Ripple “helped edit” the Payment Request API does not mean Ripple authored Apple’s payment system. Rather, Ripple — through ILP — contributed to the broader standardization of cross-ledger payments at W3C. That broader standardization helped shape how payment methods could be abstracted for the web.

Because ILP envisions value routing across ledgers — including blockchains and fiat rails — payment standards built upon it can, in principle, support diverse underlying value networks. When a browser’s payment API accepts a method defined in a standards-compliant way, that method could correspond to ILP-based networks (crypto or otherwise).

In effect, the technical work by Ripple helped lay the groundwork for a world where web checkout buttons do not have to rely solely on credit-card rails or proprietary wallet tokens.

What This Means for XRP, Crypto, and Web Payments

For holders or proponents of XRP and related crypto infrastructure, this development offers a blueprint. If web payment standards stay open and flexible, building on ILP or similar protocols may allow true value interoperability: bridging fiat, crypto, and native ledger systems.

That could make on-ramps and off-ramps smoother, not just for large institutions but for everyday users and merchants.

However, this does not mean Apple Pay currently settles through XRP or any public blockchain by default. The Payment Request API only defines the interface. Actual value settlement still depends on implementation choices by wallets, networks, or connectors.

In conclusion, the connection between Ripple’s early standards work and Apple Pay’s web interface may seem technical and subtle. But it matters deeply. Through ILP and W3C standardization, Ripple contributed to designing a world where value — whether fiat or crypto — can flow seamlessly through the web.

That link, highlighted by SMQKE, suggests the foundational architecture behind crypto may already be shaping mainstream payment experiences. For anyone watching the intersection between blockchain finance, payments, and web tech, this convergence deserves close attention.