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Currency Exchange in South Africa

South Africa has some of the toughest foreign exchange rules in the world, there are good reasons for this but they will not be covered here. Tough rules and regulations aside, Currency Exchange, Dollars, Euros and Pounds are nearly always the best, is straightforward in South African. There are many places in South Africa that will exchange your foreign currency and where cash is not needed nearly everywhere, even street vendors, will take plastic. Having some hard cash is always helpful in South Africa, but most tourists need to be aware that crime and pickpocketing is very real in the African nation hence plastic is safer. However, where and how do you exchange currency in South Africa.

How to Exchange

To exchange your dollars and other currencies in South African Rands your primary requirement is your passport and the address of where you are staying. A form may be given to fill in that requires a signature and other than that that is about all. The process is generally fast and painless.

Where to Exchange

It really does make sense to shop around and every major centre from Johannesburg to Bloemfontein to Cape Town will have many places to exchange your cash. Many high street banks have stopped or downscaled their in branch foreign exchange, and even when you do head to bank that does offer the service the queue can be long. High street banks may offer competitive rates and often much lower fees or commissions, and if you ask many will reverse the fixed fees to make the transaction even more competitive. If you want really competitive foreign exchange, especially for larger volumes of cash FNB is known to be the most competitive.

However, there are many foreign exchange offices dotted in malls around the country. Here are some of the more well-known and trusted foreign exchange companies you may find:

• Travelex
• Bidvest Bank
• American Express
• Interchange
• Imali Express

These are some of the more trusted and reliable foreign exchange companies. If you are in a centre it is worthwhile getting a quote from two or three in the same mall. The offices are often competitive and it could save you up to ZAR200 on your transaction in some cases. Each transaction has a combination of fees and commission and you must realise that this is taken out of your transaction after the exchange rate conversion. It is worthwhile, as stated, to ask a couple of offices for a quote.

There are currency exchange offices at each international airport in South Africa, very often these are not as competitive as you may expect. Many people learn that they should rather wait until they are away from the airport to trade cash.

The really best way to exchange currency is with a local, many hotel guests often need money changing either coming in or leaving the country. Better still if you have family in SA let them draw the cash while transfer from your country with a company such as HiFX and deposit funds safely in a South African Bank account. With Currency exchange in SA as long as you use reputable exchange companies or think out of the box with friends, colleagues or family you really cannot go wrong.