(CNN) -- Snapchat may be the latest application with a new mobile payment feature launched this week, but the idea that made Snapcash possible was spawned more than seven years ago in Africa. When M-Pesa came on the scene in 2007 -- a money transfer system devised by Vodafone and Kenya-based Safaricom - it sparked a mini-revolution. With the touch of a button, relatives in Nairobi could transfer cash instantly to their remote up-country families without the need for bank accounts, bureaucracy, and sometimes long journeys to settle accounts. Experimental beginnings Initially launched as an experiment in creating a development impact through a private-sector solution, and seeded with as little as £2 million (US$3.1 million) in competition money, the system has gone from strength to strength.
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Mobile money transfer system M-Pesa is aimed at people without bank accounts
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Launched in 2007 in Kenya, the revolutionary system has surpassed all expectations
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M-Pesa has nearly 17 million active customers and as many as 186,000 agents worldwide
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It recently launched in Romania where an estimated 35% of people have no bank account
While it was originally designed for and aimed at those at the bottom of the pyramid, M-Pesa is used by almost everyone that needs to move money in @placeholder, allowing users to transfer between US$1,500--US$1,600 per day.