Opera for Android 59 takes a leap forward in online payments with new Payment Request API support

Payment request API

As shopping moves more and more online, the need for simple, standardized solutions grows. One example of emerging standards is the W3C Payment Request API. The aim of this API is to provide a simple way for sites to get quick access to customer data such as addresses, contact information and payment details, relieving the user from entering the same data over and over again for every e-commerce site. While there is not yet widespread adoption of the Payment Request API, we are doing our part to lay the foundation for it by introducing full support with this version.

An introduction to site settings

Recently we introduced the ability to open certain sites in their dedicated apps. We have further refined the implementation in this version to make it easier to choose whether to stay in the browser or automatically open the external app.

Speaking of site behavior, you may not know that we have quite a powerful system for fine-tuning site permissions and behavior, quickly accessible via the security icon directly in the omnibar.

There you can adjust site-specific permissions such as location, notification, camera, microphone, and crypto wallet access, as well as ad blocking exceptions.

To get an overview of your current settings, and go deeper into tweaking both general and site-specific behaviors, site settings can be accessed through either the settings menu or the padlock/info shortcut illustrated above.

The small, and the invisible

As always, a lot of other improvements go into every new version. Some of these are immediately obvious, while others may go completely unnoticed. In this version, for example, we have resolved an issue of open tabs sometimes getting lost under very specific circumstances – something that does not affect most people, but is an invaluable fix for the few that have experienced issues. With a steady stream of similar, and other under-the-hood fixes, we strive to provide you with an improved browsing experience with every new release.

With that, I wish you all good health and happy browsing!