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Smartphones and the new Apple Watch could kill off cash, cards and even the supermarket check-out as shoppers are encouraged to use them to scan and pay for their groceries.

Sainsbury's is to extend a trial that lets customers scan purchases using the camera on Apple's iPhones or rival handsets using Google's Android software.

They then pack their items straight into shopping bags as they tour the aisles.

Skip the queues: Sainsbury's is to extend a trial that lets customers scan purchases using the camera on Apple's iPhones or rival handsets using Google's Android software. Above, using a smartphone in Sainsbury's

Payment: They then pack their items straight into shopping bags as they tour the aisles. Payment is made via a smartphone app linked to the shopper's bank account or card (pictured), so there is no need to queue at a till

Payment is made via a smartphone app linked to the shopper's bank account or card, so there is no need to queue at a till. The Mobile Scan & Go service is the latest example of smartphones being used as electronic wallets.

It is now impossible to buy a ticket on a London bus with cash, but travellers can pay by swiping a phone over a terminal. 

A coffee can be bought by tapping a smartphone on a till reader too. 

This week, tech giant Apple unveiled a system called Apple Pay. Its latest iPhone handsets and watch are fitted with a tiny antenna which, when held over a terminal, triggers a payment via a radio link. 

Apple Pay is an update of a smartphone app called Easy Pay, already in use in the trial with Sainsbury's and other retailers. US household names McDonald's, Subway and Walgreens, which is taking over Boots chemist, have rushed to sign up.

Tech firms Google and PayPal also have their own mobile phone payment systems and supermarkets are racing to use them. Sainsbury's Mobile Scan & Go began in three small stores, but is being rolled out to ten including its Colney hypermarket.

It is the latest in a string of check-out innovations by the supermarket giants.

Self-service tills are a fixture in many stores. Tesco is testing automated smart tills with conveyor belts that handle three trolley loads at a time. 

Many chains, including Sainsbury's, also offer handheld monitors that let shoppers scan items as they go.

But Sainsbury's chief information officer, Rob Fraser, said it is likely to opt for more smartphone payments rather than the scanners.

He said: 'The economics on Mobile Scan & Go is much better, but we do need to make sure it all makes sense for customers.'

In theory, the system could give stores unlimited access to customers' spending patterns – although Apple insists it will not collect personal data.

It uses short distance radio signals known as Near Field Communication (NFC). Tim Erlin, of the security firm Tripwire, warned: '[Apple's] entrance into the arena will greatly speed adoption of the technology, and the attention it gets from potential attackers. 

'NFC isn't as well-tested as the more common wireless technologies. We may see the rise of the modern-day pickpocket.'

Smart: The Mobile Scan & Go service is the latest example of smartphones being used as electronic wallets

The service (pictured) allows customers to scan purchases using the camera on their mobile handsets