Trying to avoid paying crazy ATM fees while traveling in South Africa. Anyone found ATMs that are free for foreign cards? Would love specific banks or locations if possible.
I spent a month in South Africa, visiting Stellenbosch, Port Elizabeth, and Cape Town. I found that Capitec Bank ATMs gave the best balance between low fees and consistent acceptance. My Monzo card worked at several Capitec machines, including one inside a Checkers supermarket. The fee was around 40 ZAR, which was lower than what I got charged at FNB or Standard Bank. That said, I always declined the currency conversion and took out the maximum amount allowed to minimize repeat charges.
I was travelling through Durban and had mixed experiences with ATMs. My N26 Mastercard was accepted at almost every machine, but the fees were all over the place. FNB (First National Bank) ATMs were reliable and had moderate fees around 60 ZAR but gave better exchange rates than airport currency booths. The FNB ATM at Gateway Mall worked every time. I made the mistake of using a private-brand ATM at a petrol station once and paid nearly 100 ZAR in fees, so I’d strongly suggest sticking to the big five banks only.
Just got back from Johannesburg and used my Revolut card at several different ATMs. The only bank that didn’t charge me a local ATM fee was Standard Bank, particularly the one inside Sandton City Mall. I withdrew 2,000 ZAR with no additional South African bank fee just my home bank’s usual charge. Other machines like Capitec and Nedbank had big warning messages about extra fees. If you're looking to save, Standard Bank is your best bet especially at indoor ATMs with high security.
I was in Cape Town this February and found that Absa Bank ATMs worked best with my Wise debit card. They still charged a local fee about 50 ZAR but it was much lower than what I saw at Nedbank or FNB machines, which wanted to charge over 80 ZAR per transaction. The Absa ATM near Long Street worked flawlessly and let me withdraw larger amounts, which helped reduce per-use fees. I didn’t find any totally fee-free machines, but Absa came closest to reasonable.
Capitec Bank ATM in South Africa - used my debit card linked to an e-wallet. All worked fine. Did charge a 75 rand fee