With the World cup approaching, many British football fans will be heading to South Africa to support England later this year. South Africa has always been a popular tourist destination for the British for beach and safari holidays. The South African landscape is some of the most beautiful in the world. Find out here what currency is used in South Africa.
The Rand (ZAR) is the official currency of South Africa and the smallest unit is a cent with 1 Rand = 100 cents.You may hear the locals referring to the Rand as a Buck. Rand notes are available in the following denominations: 200 Rand, 100 Rand, 50 Rand, 20 Rand and 10 Rand. Smaller demoninations are avaialbe in coins and these include 5 Rand coins, 2 Rand coins, 1 Rand coins, 50 cents, 20 cents, 10 cents and 5 cents.
You can order South African currency online or by visiting your local bank or travel agent, you will find that online providers offer a more competitive rate than the high street. Visit our Comparison table to see what travel money exchange rates are being offered by the UK’s leading currency providers. As well as buying travel money before you go it is also wise to consider purchasing a prepaid currency card. A prepaid currency card allows you to preload a card with South African currency at a fixed rate before you travel. Whilst abroad if the card is lost or stolen you can contact the provider who will replace the funds. Another great advantage of using a prepaid currency card is that you can load additional funds onto the card by phone, text or email if you find yourself short of cash whilst away. With a currency card you can only spend what you have loaded onto the card so there is no chance of overspending. For more information about currency card visit our currency card guide.
Use of debit and credit cards
Mastercard and Visa are widely accepted in South Africa. You can find ATM’s in the major cities, visit the banks, shopping centres or petrol stations for a machine. Do be aware that if you plan to hire a car most petrol stations do not accept either debit or credit cards so you will need to carry some local currency.
Banks
Banks in South Africa are generally open between the hours of 0900-1530 Monday to Friday and 0830-1100 on Saturdays.At a bank you can exchange travellers cheques however the rate of commission charged for this service can vary quite significantly. Because of this it may be wise to consider using a different method to carry your holiday money so you do not end up feeling short changed. Read our guide to exchange rates to find out how you can get the best deal on travel money.
Visit our comparison tables to find out which of the UK’s leading providers is offering you the best exchange rate with the lowest fees. We also provide an informative comparison table for currency cards which shows rates and fees offered by the UK’s leading currency providers.
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Great info, thanks for useful article. I’m waiting for more