Money in South Africa

Currency

The South African currency is the Rand (R) and is divided into 100 cents (c). Notes are in R200, R100, R50, R20 and R10 denominations and coins are in R5, R2, R1, 50c, 10c and 5c.

Credit and debit cards

Most major Visa and MasterCard credit cards are accepted by hotels, shops and restaurants. Fewer places also accept American Express cards.

24-hour ATM machines are available throughout Cape Town. However, we advise students to use machines inside banks or shopping malls. These machines will also accept all major credit cards, Maestro, Cirrus and Visa Electron debit cards.

If your card is damaged or held back by an ATM machine please cancel your card immediately, because the local banks will not return foreign bank cards.

Bureaux de Change

You will need to use your passport to cash both traveller’s cheques and foreign cheques.

The closest Bureau de Change (e.g. Thomas Cook, Rennie) to the school is in the Adelphi Centre at the Pick ‘n Pay supermarket, which is on Sea Point Main Road. Other Bureaux de Change can be found in the V&A Waterfront shopping centre or any other banks available in a shopping centre (e.g. ABSA Bank, Nedbank, Standard Bank, First National Bank and so on).

Value Added Tax

South Africa has a Value Added Tax (VAT) of 14% added to purchases and services. If you are a foreign visitor to South Africa, you can reclaim your VAT on purchases if you have spent more than R250. This can be done at the VAT office at the airport before checking in on departure. Leave yourself some time to do this - you will need your original tax invoices and your passport and will need to fill in a form and have the goods you bought available for inspection.

You can save time at the airport by sorting our your paperwork at the VAT Refunds Office at the Cape Town Tourism Visitor Information Centre in the V&A Waterfront, open daily 09.00 to 21.00, telephone 021 405 4500, or Cape Tourism City Centre, open Monday to Friday 08.00 to 13.00 and on Sundays and Bank Holidays 09.00 to 13.00, telephone 021 426 4260.