Pounds GBP to South African rand ZAR exchange rate

The South African rand is the official currency of the Republic of South Africa. It’s abbreviated to ZAR and its issuing authority is the South African Reserve Bank.

There are legal limits on the amount of money, both in rand and in other currencies, that you’re allowed to take into South Africa with you. You need to declare currency you’re carrying if it’s over a certain amount. This amount can change, so make sure you check before you travel.

Notes: 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 rand

Coins: 1, 2 and 5 rand and 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents

While the South African rand is the legal currency of South Africa, it’s also used as currency in the Common Monetary Area between South Africa, Eswatini (formerly known as Swaziland) and Lesotho. Areas of these countries also use the South African rand in addition to their own currencies.

Namibia was formerly part of this union but, even though the South African rand has now been replaced by the Namibian dollar, it’s still widely accepted there. Other unofficial users of the currency are Angola, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

It’s easy to buy South African rand online at Post Office or in thousands of participating branches. Find your nearest branch that sells currency.

Order travel money online and you can choose either to pick up in any branch, or home delivery (free for orders over £500). Order by 3pm on a working day to get either service the next working day.

Another way to take your holiday money is on a Travel Money Card. You can load this prepaid MasterCard with up to 23 currencies, including the South African rand, and manage it with the free Post Office Travel app.

To get a better rate, order online, buy more holiday money at one time. And, if you can, do it when the South African rand exchange rate is good.

The 200 rand banknote is the highest value denomination in the South African currency. The lowest denomination is the 1 cent coin (worth about 0.00044 pence in GBP at the time of writing).