South African rand: features, history and course

The national currency of South Africa - the South African rand - has a rather interesting history and features, which will be discussed in this article.

Description

The name rand comes from the name of the mountain range, whose name sounds like Witwatersrand (in one of the official languages of South Africa, Witwatersrand). This mountain range is located in the South African province of Gauteng, which is famous for the largest gold deposits in the country.

Rand has an international designation R and ISO 4217 - ZAR. There is a rand of 100 cents. In addition to South Africa, rand is used on the territory of the Single Currency Area, which currently includes South Africa, Namibia, Swaziland and Lesotho.

Short story

The South African rand was put into circulation in 1961, coming to replace the then used South African pound. This was due to the acquisition of South Africa's sovereignty and withdrawal from the British Commonwealth, as the Republic of South Africa did not want to be more dependent on the former metropolis.

The exchange of the old currency for a new one took place at the rate of 1 pound 2 South African rand.

One of the peculiarities of this monetary unit is that in the Russian interpretation there are two versions of the name of this currency, namely rand and rand. The reason for this is that the name of the rand came to Russian from English, where its original name was distorted and sounds like a rand, and in Afrikaans it is like a rand.

Coins

Since the introduction of the South African Rand into circulation (1961), paper notes and metal coins have been used. Since then, coins in nominal value of half a cent, one cent, two and a half, five, ten and fifty cents are used in the country.

In 1965, a coin worth two and a half cents was replaced by a two-cent coin. A coin of half a cent was withdrawn from circulation in 1973. Coins one and two cents have ceased to be used since 2002. The reason for refusing small coins is inflation. Despite the fact that in the country not all prices in stores are multiples of five, when paying the cost, they simply round off.

There are also coins worth one South African rand, which have been issued since 1977, and coins in two rand (1989) and five (1990).

Banknotes

The first series of paper denominations, issued in 1961, included banknotes in denominations of one, two, ten and twenty South African rands. The appearance of the former was very similar to the replaced South African pounds. This was done to facilitate the country's transition to a new currency.

Initially, the bills depicted a portrait of the founder, and later the first governor of the colony Kapstad, as well as the city of Cape Town. In those days, Kapstad belonged to the Dutch East India Company.

In the newly made national currency, the principle of the deceased pound was retained, in which all the notes were issued in two versions: first, all the inscriptions were first in English, and then in Afrikaans, and on the second, on the contrary, first in Afrikaans, and then in English.

When in 1966 a new series of banknotes was issued, this principle was again used. In this series of paper notes, five-bank notes appeared, but notes were withdrawn from circulation into twenty South African rand.

The next series of notes was issued in 1978, which included banknotes of two, five and ten rand. Banknotes in denominations of twenty and fifty rand entered only in 1984. This series of bills was most heavily changed externally. First, there was only one option, where on banknotes two, ten and fifty rand all the inscriptions were first in Afrikaans, and then in English. On bills in five and twenty the situation was the opposite: the inscriptions were first in English, and then in Afrikaans. On all banknotes, there was still a portrait of Jan van Riebeeck.

At the end of XX century. The appearance of the banknotes was changed. From now on, the obverse of banknotes began to depict representatives of the "big five" of the animal world, which traditionally includes an elephant, rhinoceros, buffalo, lion and leopard.

Denominations in two and five rands ceased to be produced, since they were replaced by metal coins. Since 1994, banknotes have appeared worth a hundred and two hundred rands.

In 2012, there was a new series of paper bills, which began to portray the portrait of the first black South African president Nelson Mandela. In a new series of notes there are banknotes in denominations of ten, twenty, fifty and two hundred rands.

South African rand. Currency Graph

To date, the South African Republic has established a floating exchange rate regime, that is, the value of the currency in the world foreign exchange market may fluctuate depending on the situation that is developing in the foreign exchange market.

In the case of the South African rand, the exchange rate anchor is the inflation rate in the country.

The South African Rand to Dollar Rate

The state monetary unit of the Republic of South Africa symbolizes its sovereignty and belonging to the African continent.

Rand is not in high demand outside the countries where it is in circulation, so the course of the South African rand is not too high. If you compare it to the dollar, then for one American dollar you will get about twelve and a half rands, so for one rand you will be given approximately $ 0.08.

If the South African rand to the dollar is estimated at less than one-tenth, then comparing it with the euro, you can see that for one rand you can get no more than 0.07 euros. And for one British pound and even less - about 0.06.

The South African rand to the ruble rate

In comparison with the Russian national currency, the South African currency unit looks a little more advantageous. The cost of one Russian ruble in the rands will be about 0.22 ZAR. Accordingly, the South African rand to the ruble is estimated at approximately 4.54 Russian rubles, which can not be called a high index.

The higher cost of the South African national currency is due to a number of factors, including a more stable and developed economy, a high inflow of foreign capital and foreign tourists to the country, and the use of this currency in several states.

Exchange transactions

In South Africa, millions of foreign tourists come from all over the world every year. And this indicator is becoming more and more. The tourism sector is developing very rapidly, becoming an increasingly important sector of the state economy. The majority of tourists are Europeans, Americans and Japanese. Russians are not yet actively visiting this country, but annually in South Africa comes about 40-50 thousand Russian tourists, not counting the inhabitants of the CIS countries.

Therefore, the issue of exchanging the Russian currency for the local currency is quite important. Immediately specify the point that you should not come to South Africa, having only Russian rubles on hand, since it is almost impossible to exchange them for local money. There are very few exchange offices and financial institutions where you will be able to exchange rubles. If you are lucky enough to find such a place, the commission will be very high.

It is best to exchange rubles in advance for dollars, euros or British pounds, because these are the most popular foreign currencies in South Africa. There is also a small share of companies and exchange offices working with some other African currencies, as well as with Australian and Canadian dollars. You can try to exchange Chinese yuan or Japanese yen.

The other currencies, including Russian rubles and Ukrainian hryvnia, will not be exchanged. Therefore, you should not come to this country with rubles in the hope of exchanging them there.

It should be noted that in the country, unlike many other African countries, there are no problems with ATMs and credit cards. Practically in any large settlement you can easily find an ATM or pay with a plastic bank card in a supermarket or cafe.

Conclusion

South Africa is a distant exotic state, where millions of foreigners come every year to admire the African savannahs, to visit safaris and watch wild animals in their natural habitat. Russians have not yet mastered the given country, but every year the number of our compatriots who come on holiday here is growing.

Before you go abroad, you need to learn as much as possible the country where you intend to go, especially if it's so far and exotic as South Africa.

An important point in studying the characteristics of the country is its financial side. It is necessary, so to speak, to know in person the national currency of the state where you are going to go. Having specified all the features related to the financial side, you can exclude the possibility of a number of problems.