Monetary Information about South Africa

Tipping is customary in South Africa. A guideline for visitors is the following: porters R5 per item, taxis 10%, waiters and waitresses in restaurants 10 - 15%, barmen 10%, parking attendants R2, hairdresser assistants R5, tour guides R20

South Africa, offers an extremely favourable exchange rate for many international visitors, it is an inexpensive destination for travel to. Not only will visitors be receiving a great deal of rand for their euros, pounds and dollars but South Africa also offers many banks, bureaux de change and automatic tellers so that you can shop around for the best exchange rate.

The currency of South Africa consists of banknotes & coins and is denoted in Rand(ZAR) and Cents. One hundred cents equal one rand. There are same-size notes in different colours for R10 (green), R20 (brown), R50 (red), R100 (blue) and R200 (orange). Silver coins are for R1, R2 and R5. Yellow colored coins are for 10, 20 and 50 cents and Copper coins are for 1, 2 and 5 cents. The currency is managed by the South African Reserve Bank as prescribed in schedule 2 of the South African Reserve Bank Act No 90 of 1989.

Credit Cards, in particular Visa and Master Card, are widely accepted at restaurants and shops. American express and diners are accepted, however they are not accepted everywhere.Petrol can not be bought on credit card however a petrol card can be organized through a local bank which would then be linked to the international account.

Most shops and restaurants do not accept payment in foreign currency. Foreign currency can be exchanged at banks, bureau de change and automatic tellers. When exchanging your currency you will be asked to represent positive ID. Most international traveller's cheques can be cashed if they are in an acceptable currency. Rennies travel exchanges travellers' cheques without charging commission.

Banking hours are Monday to Friday: 09h00 to 15h30. Saturday: 09h00 to 11h00 Autobanks (ATM's, automated teller machines) are found in most towns and operate on a 24 hour basis. The four biggest banks in South Africa are Absa Bank, First National Bank, Nedbank and Standard Bank.

For more information on current exchange rates go to XE.