( CNN ) -- The aroma of rich coffee wafts through the air as Xolile Malindi leans behind the counter of House of Machines , a hip cafÃ© in the heart of Cape Town . Opposite him , a young customer approaches the bar , taking his wallet out to pay for his double espresso made of organic Arabica beans . `` Have you ever heard of this program called the SnapScan ? '' Malindi , who is the coffee shop 's day manager , asks quickly . `` You pay with your phone , '' he continues . `` A lot of places are using it in Cape Town -- it 's quite amazing . '' House of Machines is just one of dozens of stores here where customers can find SnapScan , an award-winning new digital mobile payment method developed in South Africa . The smartphone app , which is free to download , allows buyers to pay for goods using their phone , without having to worry about carrying cash or credit cards . How it works . Each SnapScan-connected store has a unique code that is linked to their bank account . When customers want to pay , they can scan the code with their SnapScan smartphone app , which then brings up the store where they are making the purchase . `` All you do is you type in the amount and punch in the PIN and press send and it 's gone -- it 's all done , '' explains Malindi . `` You 've got your secret code ( four-digit PIN ) , so if your phone goes missing for example , you do n't have to worry about people using your phone , '' he adds . The transaction is complete with SnapScan charging the customer 's debit or credit card for the amount they are paying -- similar to a normal card payment . Cutting-edge . Using your phone to pay for goods and services is nothing new in Africa , a continent where there are more than 720 million mobile phones . Services such as M-Pesa , the revolutionary Kenyan mobile payment system that allows people to bypass banks and pay bills , withdraw salaries and transfer cash electronically , have transformed the way people and business operate . Meanwhile , Africa 's smartphone market is expected to double over the following four years -- at the moment , South Africa is reportedly the biggest smartphone market in sub-Saharan Africa , with a 19 % penetration . And as smartphones increase , the paying methods are also becoming smarter . `` If you look at mobile payments specifically , Africa is actually one of the leaders in this space , '' says Kobus Ehlers , co-founder of the SnapScan app . `` SnapScan was developed in South Africa for the African market , so we try to find really local and relevant solutions and I think it 's going to get a massive uptake , '' he adds . `` Technology in general is going to get a massive uptake in Africa as we do n't have those legacy systems , '' continues Ehlers . `` People are n't used to using credit cards for example , they can skip right ahead and start using cutting-edge payment technology . '' Cashless society . Right now , SnapScan is only available at formal merchants but the hope is that the e-currency could flow from the phones of customers to the accounts of informal merchants too . It can even be used to send remittances . Ehlers says that the hope of a cashless society is possible for Africa . `` Quite a large portion of people have access to a smartphone and by leveraging that technology we can provide payments that were previously impossible , '' he says . `` That really is an empowering thing for most people in Africa who have n't got access to formal infrastructure to provide those services . '' John Campbell heads up the Beyond Payments division of Standard Bank , which partners with innovators such as SnapScan to create banking solutions . He says that lack of traditional infrastructure often leads to creative solutions . `` In other territories where that infrastructure was not available , that infrastructure has been leapfrogged by the use of mobile , '' explains Campbell . `` M-Pesa in Kenya is a good example of that , where money goes straight to your mobile -- your mobile number almost becomes your account number , that 's effectively what happens . '' Back in the House of Machines , Malindi keeps on introducing the new payment method to his customers . `` It 's way better as opposed to using your credit card or cash , '' he says , adding that he was surprised to find out that SnapScan was a tech company that started in South Africa . `` I thought it 's one of the things that we get from overseas , '' says Malindi . `` When I found out this is African-launched I was 'wow , here we go Africa , here we come , we 're rocking the world ! ' '' READ THIS : Africa 's smartphone future . READ THIS : 10 startups you need to know .
SnapScan is an award-winning app allowing buyers to pay with their smartphone . Users do not need to worry about carrying cash or losing their credit cards . Mobile apps are changing the way business is done in many African countries . The continent is a global leader in digital mobile payments .