When you are visiting South Africa for a safari, be sure to exchange your local currency to South African Rand. Foreign currencies are not accepted at shops in South African or as tips. When you tip a waiter/waitress or host on safari or at a restaurant, tip in Rand. The restaurants or shops will have Credit Card machines branded Visa or MasterCard. Your bank card/ credit card needs to be chip-enabled (usable to buy over the internet) for you to be able to buy in South Africa. You will however need cash for day-to-day things, such as small purchases, tips etc.

The best way to get cash is to use a bank ATM which can be found at the airport banks, shops and fuel stations on the route. Most gas stations/fuel stations have an ATM and shops for take-out meals. There are 4 different major South African Banks: ABSA, Netbank, Capitec and FNB.

Be sure to withdraw enough funds for the duration of your trip, so you do not have to visit the ATM daily. And to have enough funds at remote locations. South African banks will not easily exchange foreign notes from local ones. Foreigners can use their passport to exchange forex at our banks.

To conclude, when visiting South Africa, we recommend that you tip in South African Rand. Foreign currencies are not accepted in shops in our country. The staff you tip will require a letter from the person that gave them the money (as proof of where they got it from) and their contact details to exchange foreign currency.