Money, cards and ATMs in South Africa

Cards

• Visa and Mastercard are accepted almost everywhere, including small restaurants, petrol stations and park gates.
• American Express is patchy and works mainly at upmarket hotels and international chains.
• Contactless is universal and there is no low tap limit worth worrying about.
• Always choose to be billed in rand. The "would you like to pay in your own currency" prompt costs you several percent every time.
• Tell your bank you are travelling. South African transactions trip fraud rules on some foreign cards.

ATMs, carefully

• Use machines inside a shopping mall or a bank branch during opening hours. Street-facing ATMs and machines in tourist areas carry a real skimming and robbery risk.
• Never accept help at an ATM, however official the person looks. This is the standard local scam and it ends with your card swapped.
• Expect ZAR 50 to ZAR 75 per withdrawal in local access fees on a foreign card, plus your own bank's charges. Take out larger amounts less often.
• If the machine keeps your card, do not walk away. Phone your bank from where you stand.

Cash

• Keep ZAR 200 to ZAR 500 on you for tips, car guards, petrol attendants, market stalls and township restaurants.
• Split it up. Do not pull a full wallet out on a street.
• Cash above ZAR 25,000 must be declared on entry.

Tipping, which matters here

Tipping in South Africa is a meaningful part of many people's income, not an optional flourish.

• Tip in cash and in rand. Many of the people you are tipping have no card account.
• Check the bill for an added service charge for large tables, which is increasingly common.