South Africa — Currency & Money

Currency is the South African Rand (ZAR). Cards — Visa and Mastercard, contactless via SnapScan/Zapper — are accepted almost everywhere in cities; cash is useful only for parking attendants, tips and township markets. Notify your bank of travel to avoid fraud blocks, which are common on foreign cards.

Use ATMs inside bank branches or shopping malls (Standard Bank, FNB, Absa, Nedbank) rather than street machines to avoid card-skimming and "helpful stranger" scams. Foreign-card fees run ZAR 50–100 per withdrawal plus your home bank's markup. Tipping is 10–15% in restaurants, ZAR 5–10 for petrol attendants and ZAR 10–20 for car guards.