VIPA911 | Banking & Foreign Exchange in South Africa
With a favourable exchange rate for many international currencies, you'll find South Africa a very inexpensive destination. And an easy one – our financial institutions are world-class, with no shortage of banks, bureaux de change and automatic tellers.
South African Currency
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South Africa's unit of currency is the rand, which is divided into 100 cents. Coins come in denominations of 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, R1, R2 and R5, and notes in denominations of R10, R20, R50, R100 and R200. |
How far will my money go?
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A long, long way. With a favourable exchange rate for the major international currencies, you'll find South Africa a very inexpensive destination. |
Banking made easy
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You'll also find South Africa an easy destination. From the moment you step off the plane you'll start seeing banks, bureaux de change and automatic tellers all over. |
Credit Cards & Cash
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All major credit cards can be used in South Africa, with American Express and Diners Club enjoying less universal acceptance than MasterCard and Visa. In some small towns, you may find you'll need to use cash. When it comes to paying for fuel, you may also have to pay cash. Our filling stations can now take Debit card payments – regulations allowing them to do so came into effect in July 2009. However, many filling stations (or garages, as we call them) may take a while to adjust, or may choose not to. Look out for the "cash only" notices. Many locals have special fuel credit cards, known as garage or petrol cards, for use only at filling stations. These will still be accepted. Road tolls, on the major routes between cities, can be paid using MasterCard or Visa. |
South Africa’s 4 major Banks
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Foreign Exchange Services
| These and other financial services are offered by SA's "big four" banks as well as the credit card firms listed above. Other foreign exchange dealers in South Africa include the following: | ||
| ABN AMRO South Africa | Bank of Baroda (SA branch) | Bank of China (SA branch) |
| Bank of Taiwan (SA branch) | Barclays Bank South Africa | Bidvest Bank/Rennies Foreign Exchange |
| Calyon Corporate Bank (SA branch) | China Construction Bank Johannesburg | Citibank South Africa |
| Commerzbank (SA branch) | Deutsche Bank (SA branch) | HBZ Bank South Africa |
| HSBC South Africa | Investec South Africa | JPMorgan Chase (SA branch) |
| Master Currency | Meeg Bank | Mercantile Bank |
| Société Générale (SA branch) | South African Bank of Athens | Standard Chartered Bank South Africa |
| State Bank of India, South Africa | Tower Foreign Exchange | |
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