The new big Google Chrome update will offer safer online payments

Making sure you stay safe online when shopping should be a lot easier thanks to a new update coming to Google Chrome.

The company has revealed that the next build of its web browser will offer an upgraded security system when it comes to managing online payments.

Google Chrome 95, which is in beta now, will include a new ‘payment’ extension to the browser’s Web Authentication API, meaning that a bank or other institution will also need to certify the transaction is legitimate.

Chrome 95 payments

The Google Chrome team say this new feature is important as it allows the merchant extra visibility into who is carrying out a transaction on their site, all certified by the  online checkout via Google Chrome’s Payment Request API using the ‘secure-payment-confirmation’ payment method.

“This feature enables a consistent, low friction, strong authentication experience using platform authenticators,” Google added in a Chromium blog post outlining the new features.

“The proposed feature provides a better user experience and stronger security than existing solutions.”

Chrome 95 will also include a couple of handy tools and services for developers, including a new self.reportError() function that allows developers to report errors to the console and any global “error” event handlers in the same way as an uncaught JavaScript exception.

The new release will also completely remove support for FTP URLs, making the browser safer to use for all Chrome customers, following a gradual easing out of the feature. Chrome 95 will now also add support for URLs with non-IPv4 hostnames ending in numbers, and include a new EyeDropper API that makes it easier to create custom color pickers.

Chrome 95 is in beta now, with Google hoping for a full release later this year.