Travel money
Travel money in South Africa: cash or card?
Cards work almost everywhere, contactless included — so the cash you carry is for people rather than purchases. Petrol attendants, car guards and waiters are all tipped, and the machine you withdraw from deserves more care than the payment itself.
South African rand (ZAR, R) · figures checked against the sources at the foot of this page
Tips — car guards, petrol attendants, porters — plus craft markets, township tours and rural stalls.
Everything else, contactless included, from supermarkets to safari lodges to a coffee at a market.
R200–400 in small notes and coins, refreshed as it goes. It is tipping money more than spending money.
The cash machine, not the card. Never accept help at an ATM, and use ones inside banks or malls.
The money itself
- 10 RGreen
- 20 RBrown
- 50 RRed
- 100 RBlue
- 200 ROrange
10, 20 and 50 cents, then R1, R2 and R5. The R5 is the standard car-guard coin and the one worth keeping a pocket of — a fistful of them is genuinely more useful here than another card.
Notes carry the Big Five on the back and Mandela on the front across the whole series, so they look alike at a glance and differ mainly in colour. Check what you are handing over in a dim car park, and keep the small notes accessible separately from the rest.
Every way to pay, and whether it works for a visitor
Whether a payment method exists in South Africa and whether you can use it are different questions. This table answers the second one: no local bank account, no local SIM, no residency.
Visa / Mastercard
WorksAccepted almost everywhere, contactless included — supermarkets, restaurants, fuel, lodges, national parks, markets with a card machine. South Africa's card infrastructure is excellent and tap-to-pay is the norm.
Apple Pay / Google Pay
WorksWorks wherever contactless does, which is nearly everywhere. Terminals routinely come to your table rather than the card going to a till.
Cash (rand)
WorksAlways accepted and specifically needed for tipping, craft markets, informal traders, some township experiences and rural stalls. Small notes and R5 coins are the useful denominations.
SnapScan, Zapper and the QR apps
Residents onlyThe QR codes on counters and market stalls run on South African bank accounts. Every one of those places takes a card too, so nothing is lost.
American Express
Works, with a catchHotels, larger restaurants and lodges. Not something to rely on at the smaller end. Carry a Visa or Mastercard.
Cash
South Africa is thoroughly card-first for purchases. You can drive the Garden Route, stay in lodges, eat well and fill the tank without touching a note. What cash is for here is people.
Petrol stations are staffed — there is no self-service — and the attendant who fills the tank, checks the oil and cleans the windscreen is tipped a few rand. Car guards watch parked cars in streets and lots and are tipped on your return. Porters, guides, and the staff at a lodge all expect something. That is a steady demand for small notes and R5 coins rather than for large amounts.
Keep the tipping float separate and modest, and top it up in a supermarket by asking for change rather than by making extra trips to a machine.
Cards
Contactless is standard and acceptance runs from city supermarkets to remote lodges. Terminals are brought to the table in restaurants, so your card never leaves your sight — which is both convention and a sensible fraud precaution.
Fuel is a partial exception worth knowing: some stations still handle cards differently or prefer a fleet or garage card, so a small cash reserve saves an awkward moment on a long drive.
Decline dynamic currency conversion if a terminal offers it, and pay in rand. The rand moves a good deal, which makes the conversion offer look reassuring and makes it no less expensive.
ATMs
Use machines inside a bank branch or a shopping mall, in daylight, and treat a free-standing machine on a street as a last resort. Card fraud at ATMs is a real and organised problem here, and the setting is the main variable you control.
The specific rule worth memorising: never accept help from anyone at a machine, however official or friendly they appear, and never let the card out of your hand. If a machine retains your card or a transaction fails oddly, cancel, take the card if it is returned, and use a different machine — then check the account.
Fees from South African banks are meaningful, so take a sensible amount at once. Retail cash-back at supermarket tills is common, cheaper, and safer than a street machine.
Changing money
There is little reason to arrive with rand. Bank machines and cards cover the country, and the airport bureaux price for convenience as they do everywhere.
If you are changing cash, banks and licensed bureaux in the malls are competitive. Keep the receipt if you may want to change back, and note that the rand fluctuates enough that the rate you got on arrival may look very different a fortnight later.
Rand is easy to change back and easy to hold for a return trip, so there is no pressure to spend down to the last coin — beyond the R5s, which are worth leaving with someone who will use them.
Costs that are not the price
Tipping is expected across a wider set of jobs
10–15% in restaurants and bars, R5–10 for a petrol attendant, R5–20 for a car guard depending on how long you were away, R10–20 a bag for porters, and a meaningful daily amount for safari guides and trackers. Many of these roles are paid very little without it, which is why it reads as a cost structure rather than an optional extra.
Nobody pumps their own petrol
Attendants fill the tank, clean the windscreen and check the oil. It is not optional and it is not self-service — the tip is the point of the interaction and a few rand is normal.
Conservation and park fees
National parks charge daily conservation fees at a higher rate for international visitors, and private reserves price separately again. Cards work at the gates, but a Wild Card or multi-day pass can be worth the arithmetic on a longer trip.
You can reclaim the 15% VAT
Foreign visitors can claim VAT back on goods above R250 taken out of the country, processed at the VAT refund offices at the international airports. Bring the goods, the tax invoices and your passport, and allow time before check-in.
Paying for transport
Driving is the default, and fuel is cash-friendly
Car hire is booked and paid by card, tolls on the main routes take cards or an e-tag, and fuel is attended. Keep small notes for the attendant and the car guard at every stop.
Ride apps over metered taxis
Uber and Bolt cover the cities, quote the fare in advance and take a card in the app, which is both cheaper and clearer than a street taxi. In Cape Town and Johannesburg they are the default way visitors move at night.
Trains, buses and the Gautrain
The Gautrain between Johannesburg, Pretoria and OR Tambo runs on its own stored-value card bought at the station. Intercity coaches — Intercape, Greyhound — sell online by card. Metro rail is not a visitor's transport in most cities.
What you may carry in and out
Declaring cash
Foreign currency above the equivalent of USD 10,000 must be declared. Rand itself may be carried in and out only up to R25,000 per traveller.
The rand moves
It is one of the more volatile currencies in this set, which cuts both ways: a price quoted in rand can be excellent value or not depending on the month, and holding a large float for weeks is a small bet you did not intend to make.
Common questions about money in South Africa
Do I need cash in South Africa?
Some, and mostly for people rather than purchases. Cards cover shops, restaurants, fuel and lodges, but petrol attendants, car guards, porters and guides are tipped in cash. R200–400 in small notes and R5 coins, topped up as it goes, is the right shape.
How much should I tip in South Africa?
10–15% in restaurants, R5–10 for a petrol attendant, R5–20 for a car guard, R10–20 a bag for porters, and a daily amount for safari guides and trackers. Several of these jobs pay very little without tips, so it functions as part of the price rather than as a bonus.
Is it safe to use ATMs in South Africa?
With care. Use machines inside bank branches or shopping malls, in daylight, never accept help from anyone at the machine however official they seem, and never let your card out of your hand. Card fraud at machines is organised here. Supermarket cash-back at the till is cheaper and safer than a street machine.
Can I pay by card everywhere in South Africa?
Very nearly — contactless is standard from city supermarkets to remote lodges, and terminals come to your table in restaurants. The exceptions are tipping, craft markets, informal traders and some rural stalls, and occasionally fuel stations that handle cards differently.
Why does someone fill my petrol tank?
Because self-service does not exist here. Attendants fill the tank, clean the windscreen and check oil and tyres, and a few rand is the customary tip. Keep small notes in the car for exactly this.
Can I claim VAT back when leaving South Africa?
Yes, on goods over R250 that you take out of the country, claimed at the VAT refund offices at the international airports. Bring the goods themselves, the tax invoices and your passport, and allow extra time before checking in.
How much rand can I take in or out?
Up to R25,000 per traveller. Foreign currency above the equivalent of USD 10,000 has to be declared. Rand changes back easily, so there is no need to spend down to nothing.
Where these figures come from
Checked against the following on . Fees and thresholds move; where a figure varies by bank or by machine, this page gives the range rather than inventing a single number.