south african money?

Question

i am going to south africa next week.will i be better taking english money there and changing it. got R13 to the pound here will it be more there. also is there a duty free limit

Answer 1

Hello witty1.
I'm a South African working in Manchester.
Yes you are right, the Pound at the moment is about 13 to 14 of our currency (Rand). I've got a Halifax and HSBC debits and credits cards which work perfectly well in any of our ATM's (cash machines) in South Africa, so I never take cash with me. A debit card is all I've ever needed. My wife has got Natwest debit card. She's in South Africa right now and she's using it. So you absolutely don't have to undergo the hassle of converting your cash, the ATM (cash machine) will do it automatically for you. It also charges far less than what you would normally be charged if you went to a Foreign Exchange. If your Daily Withdrawal Limit is 300Pounds here in England, it will probably be R3500 in South Africa.
Tip: You won't be able to withdraw R3500 at one go in any of the South African ATM's. You will have to insert your card twice, like withdrawing R2000 first, and then R1500. Please let your bank know that you are travelling abroad so that they don't activate the Anti-theft security on your account while you are abroad. HSBC did it on mine. I had to call them before they deactivated it. I hope this will help. Don't forget to take your sunshades with you..

Answer 2

Where is HERE. Talking about English money I suppose you mean if you change it in England you will get R13 to the sterling. You will get exactly the same in SA. Forex is forex. There is a duty free limit but I am not sure what that is.

Answer 3

Take your Pounds or sterling. You will find a lot of places to change it in. Don't change it at the airport. Go to the banks, or at Rennies foreign exchange. There's so many of those, you won't go wrong. Just bring your proof of ID with you. They will give you a better rate.

Enjoy SA!!

Answer 4

Take Rands with you and get rid of any coins before you come home.

If you run short, you can often use your cash card in some machines to draw more out and the rate isn't too horrific.

Remember - bartering in outdoor markets, etc, is more than expected and good fun too but don't talk yourself out of a deal!

Answer 5

the rand is very volitile at the moment and so it is quite agood idea to change there, remember there is a limit on how much you can take in and out of the country anyway. duty free limit is the same as for any international journey

enjoy your visit, if possible visit the 'Big Hole' diamond mine in Kimberley its brill

Answer 6

Yahooo, i am also going to S-Africa end of Feb it all depends on what the exchange rate is. But Pounds do go far in SA. I cannot waittttttttt.

Answer 7

well it depends on how much time you have over there. if you have time to go and exchange money daily or every few days, and watch the rate, then it could be fine to do this. i am south african, i just transfer money to south africa, on days the rates are good, for when i need it on that side. i wouldnt think it is wise, to carry loads of cash with you to change on that side - especially if you are going to johannesburg, go to cape town please, its my home town.

Answer 8

Dunno when you should change, but try to take as much as you can. You'll be amazed at how little the exchange rate means. When I was there it was R10 to the £. A box of smokes cost R3.30. To my amazement when I came back, it was £3.30. The same price, but do the math and it works out as 33p for 20 B&H! Whatever you do, though, don't try to come back. YOU WILL LOSE A FORTUNE.

Answer 9

Rather bring your debit card: all the ATM's here work with cirus, mastercard, visa etc, and you will not get stuck with notes that you may have to try & convert when you're back in the UK (the rate is crap over there).

Answer 10

The exchange rate stays the same,But I think it will be better to take rands over,than changing it here.