Major FAQ-South Africa

Money Matter

What is the exchange rate? Where should I change my dollars? Can I use debit card or credit card? Should I bring travelers checks?

Find the Exchange Rate for South African Rand at http://www.xe.com/ucc/

With a favorable exchange rate for many international currencies, volunteers usually find South Africa a very inexpensive destination when compared with Europe and North America. And an easy one - financial institutions are world-class, with no shortage of banks, Bureau de Change and automatic tellers. 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. The airport offers convenient, international-standard banking, Forex and car rental services.

Cash and travelers checks are suggested to settle most accounts. Volunteers will have trouble paying with traveler's checks, but volunteers will be able to exchange them at local banks or post offices. Traveler's checks are recommended as a safe way to carry money with volunteers, make sure volunteers write down the check numbers and contact information volunteers need to cancel stolen checks. Different brands of traveler's checks work better in different countries so consult volunteers local financial institution about which company volunteers should buy volunteers checks from.

Travelers should have a credit card for large or emergency purchases. Cash advances at the ATM are simple, yet volunteers should notify their home bank of their intent to travel to South Africa to avoid accounts being flagged for unusual activity. Also, volunteers should confirm their banks’ international ATM charges.

The ATM is mainly the Cirrus Network. When using ATM's volunteers are advised to go alone, be cautious and aware when conducting the transaction, travel directly from the bank back to volunteer’s home and to keep cash in a reliable and safe place. When volunteers are carrying cash, break it up into different amounts and keep it in different pockets places on their person in case of robbery.

Visa, MasterCard and American Express are accepted in some of the larger stores and hotels in larger cities but may not be widely accepted in smaller cities and not at all in the villages.

How much money volunteers bring depends on personal spending habits. Thrifty people can get by on less than $15/day. Volunteers should remember to budget money for free time travel in addition to personal daily use.