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ATM's / Cash machines ! Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia , Kenya, Uganda & South etc ! ATM's / Cash machines ! Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia , Kenya, Uganda & South etc !
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sub-Saharan Africa Topics specific to sub-Saharan Africa. (Includes all countries South of 17 degrees latitude)
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  #1  
Old 26 Aug 2010
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ATM's / Cash machines ! Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia , Kenya, Uganda & South etc !
Iv just been reading up that ATM's outside of Egypt won't accept foriegn debit/cash cards !!

Does everyone just carry a massive wod of $ or € to change ?? I didnt fancy carrying that much cash on me !!
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Old 27 Aug 2010
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Hey Ted,

Not sure what thread would have mentioned that, but getting money with a foreign bank card on east coast is pretty good except for maybe Sudan and not sure of the current situation but Zimbabwe was a bit of a bother a couple of years back. Look for the machines with the Plus or Cirrus logo or whatever international banking asscociation logo is on the back of your card.

The usual advice that finding the right bank machines is easiest in capital cities applies. Once there, stock up on enough to make sure you can make it to the next capital/big city and you should be good to go.

In Addis, the bank machine in the Sheraton is the go to solution. If that doesn't work, then the f/x kiosk in the hotel will give you advances on your credit card. A credit card with pin is a great thing to carry, not as essential on the west coast but an absolute necessity on the east.

Once you hit Kenya, it's well touristed and then the countries on the way south from there for the most part see a fair bit of tourist traffic and are pretty easy to load up on cash in the populated cities and work your way through.
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Old 27 Aug 2010
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Cheers Mountainman ! I was just going off other travel sites who said it was impossible outside of Egypt to get cash from an ATM until you get to Kenya !!!

Good to hear there is a place in Addis
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Old 27 Aug 2010
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So far I've been through SA, Nam, Bots, Zim, Moz, Mal, Tan, Ken and had no problem with a visa debit card. In Zim now you get US$ from the cash machine. Visa is a lot more widely accepted that Mastercard.
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Old 27 Aug 2010
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As MountainMan says it's mostly easy to find an ATM in the bigger cities.
Sometime the ATMs are far from a border so when you enter a country it might be smart not to be low on petrol and to carry a few $/€.
Usually you someone will offer to change the money from the country you leave when you enter the next. It's not easy to know the exactly exchange rate (does it exist?).

I don't think there are ATMs in Sudan and you will need money before you enter Khartoum anyway, it's possible to change money in Wadi Halfa but I don't think a card will help you anything. It's pretty cheap to travel in Sudan, because there is no ...
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Old 27 Aug 2010
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we had no probs in Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya or Tanzania - sometimes you may find them only in main towns and just stock up a bit, its cheaper to do it that way anyway.
If you havent set off yet, have a look at caxton FX traveller cards - works out much cheaper than using your normal debit card.
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Old 27 Aug 2010
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If you havent set off yet, have a look at caxton FX traveller cards - works out much cheaper than using your normal debit card.

Or get an account with Nationwide - I've been using my visa debit card all over southern and eastern Africa since Oct '09 and not been charged a penny in fees.
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Old 27 Aug 2010
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Originally Posted by misterpaul View Post
If you havent set off yet, have a look at caxton FX traveller cards - works out much cheaper than using your normal debit card.

Or get an account with Nationwide - I've been using my visa debit card all over southern and eastern Africa since Oct '09 and not been charged a penny in fees.
I applied for one last week. Heard nothing back off them. Not even a confirmation email
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Old 30 Aug 2010
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I leave for Joburg from Perth Oz Feb 2011 for a run up the east coast to Europe via Egypt / turkey. To access money I have cards that include a Visa debit (plus), normal debit(plus), normal debit(cirrus), and lastly debit MasterCard. Basically trying to cover all bases. Should I organize any other cards before I leave?

Also how much $US should I organize for borders / ferries etc for the trip up. In Zim $US is available from ATM's but I was hoping not to need to go via Robert Mugabe's mess.
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Old 30 Aug 2010
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I reckon that's plenty of cards Bigfoot. I've managed with a visa debit card. Also have a visa credit card but haven't used it.

Visas I've needed to pay for in US$ so far:

Moz - US$25
Tan - US$50
Ken - US$25

There are also some charges for your vehicle for road tax / tolls etc, but this will depend on what your driving / riding.

If you organise US$ in advance it's easiest to do this at home or in SA. Make sure you get newer notes with big heads as no-one will take the older style ones with small heads.

Zim is worth visiting though, don't avoid it just because of one crazy guy when there's lots of great people there.
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Old 30 Aug 2010
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I believe Nationwide have in the last few days changed their terms, so no longer fee free abroad I think. Santander Zero is possibly fee free from what I've read. Just check before giving anyone your cash!

I just tried my Caxton card for the first time abroad and the machine didn't like it
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Old 30 Aug 2010
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Originally Posted by grizzly7 View Post
I believe Nationwide have in the last few days changed their terms, so no longer fee free abroad I think. Santander Zero is possibly fee free from what I've read. Just check before giving anyone your cash!

I just tried my Caxton card for the first time abroad and the machine didn't like it
I've been hearing about Nationwide changing their terms since last year, but I've not been charged at all since Oct '09. Just checked my statement and two days ago I took money out here in Nairobi and there's also no charge.
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Old 31 Aug 2010
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The Caxton card doesn't work quite as widely as the Visa ones, but they tend to work in most Barclays ATM's which are pretty prolific and most of the ones that display a mastercard sign. Have had no probs with NBC in Tanz either.
I use my visa debit as a backup but the charges are equivalent to a round of Tuskers so I'm happy to do a hunt and drink the difference chug
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Old 3 Sep 2010
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We've used VISA debit without issue in SA, Zim, Zam, Malawi and TZ.

FIY: Rwanda ATM's only accepts local cards, so bring some US$ in large bills to exchange.
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