The potential market for the real property e-settlement system, PEXA, has been expanded with the passing of legislation allowing e-conveyancing in South Australia.Using a similar method to how the ASX transacts, PEXA acts as an online exchange for financial institutions, lawyers, conveyancers and state-based land registries' databases to complete property settlements. Funds settle through the Reserve Bank of Australia. The legislation giving effect to PEXA transactions came into force in South Australia on 4 July 2016, according to proponents of the property settlement platform. This means that from this week, SA conveyancers, solicitors, banks, credit unions and mutuals can digitally exchange property - entirely paper-free - in a market estimated by CoreLogic RP to be worth A$288 billion (as at May 2016). In common with other digital advances, such as the move to electronic trading via the Australian Stock Exchange or the rise of online and mobile banking, PEXA has been a slow-burn exercise in transforming the way property is transacted.For instance, the first e-settlement through PEXA involved CBA and Land Victoria in June 2013, while e-settlements were not available in NSW until late 2014, with the exchange of electronic contracts made possible in 2015. However, the first sale where every single step was conducted online - including the digital signature on the electronic contract, and the setting up of a second mortgage with a different lender - was not completed until 9 June this year. This means buyers no longer need to purchase bank cheques, alleviating a last minute rush to arrange cheques and settlement delays when printed cheques contain errors, according to the PEXA website.