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 ridge, the name of which sounds like Witwatersrand (in one of the official languages of South Africa, Afrikaans Witwatersrand). This mountain range is located in the South African province of Gauteng, which is famous for the country's largest gold deposits.
The Rand has the international designation R and the code is ISO 4217 - ZAR. It consists of 100 cents rand. In addition to South Africa itself , the rand is used in the territory of the Unified Monetary Zone, which currently includes South Africa, Namibia, Swaziland and Lesotho.
Short story
The South African rand was introduced in 1961, replacing the then used South African pound. This was due to South Africa gaining sovereignty and withdrawing from the British Commonwealth, since the Republic of South Africa no longer wanted to be 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 features of this currency 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 into Russian from English, where its original name was distorted and sounds like a rand, and in Afrikaans - like a rand.
Coins
Since the introduction of the South African rand in circulation (1961), both paper banknotes and metal coins began to be used. Since then, half a cent, one cent, two and a half, five, ten and fifty cents coins have been used in the country.
In 1965, a two-and-a-half-cent coin was replaced by a two-cent. A half-cent coin was withdrawn from circulation in 1973. One and two-cent coins 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 a multiple of five, when paying, the price is simply rounded up.
There are also coins in denominations in one South African rand, which began to be issued since 1977, and coins in two rands (1989) and five (1990).
Banknotes
The first series of paper notes issued in 1961 included banknotes in denominations of one, two, ten and twenty South African rand. The appearance of the first was very similar to the replaced South African pounds. This was done to facilitate the transition of the country to a new currency.
Initially, the banknotes depicted a portrait of the founder, and later the first governor of the Kapstad colony, as well as the city of Cape Town. In those days, Kapstad belonged to the Dutch East India Company.
In the new national currency, the principle of the gone pound was preserved, according to which all banknotes were issued in two versions: on the first all the inscriptions went first in English and then in Afrikaans, and in the second, on the contrary, first in Afrikaans and then in English.
When in 1966 a new series of notes was released, this principle was again used. Five-series banknotes appeared in this series of paper banknotes, however, banknotes in twenty South African rand were withdrawn from circulation.
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 were introduced only in 1984. This series of notes was most strongly changed externally. Firstly, there was only one option left, where on the banknotes two, ten and fifty rand all the inscriptions went first in Afrikaans, and then in English. On bills of five and twenty the situation was the opposite: the inscriptions went first in English, and then in Afrikaans. All banknotes still had a portrait image of Jan van Riebeck.
At the end of XX century. The appearance of banknotes has been changed. From now on, the obverse of the banknotes began to depict representatives of the "Big Five" of the animal world, which traditionally includes an elephant, a rhinoceros, a buffalo, a lion and a leopard.
Banknotes in two and five rand ceased to be issued, as they were replaced by metal coins. Since 1994, banknotes appeared in denominations of one hundred and two hundred rand.
In 2012, a new series of paper notes appeared, on which they began to depict a portrait of the first black president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela. In the new series of notes there are banknotes in denominations of ten, twenty, fifty and two hundred rand.
South African Rand. Currency chart
To date, a floating exchange rate regime has been established in the Republic of South Africa , that is, the value of the currency in the global currency market may fluctuate depending on the situation in the foreign exchange market.
In the case of South African rand, the rate anchor is the rate of inflation in the country.
South African rand to dollar exchange rate
The state monetary unit of the Republic of South Africa symbolizes its sovereignty and belonging to the African continent.
The rand is not in great demand outside the countries where it is in circulation, and therefore the South African rand is not too high. If you compare it with the dollar, then for one American dollar you will receive about twelve and a half rands, thus, for one rand you will be given approximately $ 0.08.
If the South African rand against the dollar is valued 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.
South African rand to ruble exchange rate
Compared to the Russian national currency, the South African currency unit looks a little better. The cost of one Russian ruble in rands will be about 0.22 ZAR. Accordingly, the South African rand to the ruble is estimated at approximately 4.54 Russian rubles, which cannot be called a high indicator.
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 influx of foreign capital and foreign tourists into the country, as well as the use of this currency in several countries at once.
Exchange operations
In South Africa, millions of foreign tourists from all over the world arrive annually. And this indicator is becoming more and more. The tourism sector is developing at a very fast pace, becoming an increasingly important sector of the state economy. Most tourists are Europeans, Americans and Japanese. The Russians are not too actively visiting this country, however, annually about 40-50 thousand Russian tourists come to South Africa, not counting the residents of the CIS countries.
Therefore, the issue of exchanging Russian currency for local is quite important. Immediately we stipulate that it is not worth coming to South Africa, having only Russian rubles in hand, since it is almost impossible to exchange them for local money. There are very few exchange points and financial organizations where you can exchange rubles. If, nevertheless, you are lucky enough to find such a place, then 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 proportion 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.
Other currencies, including Russian rubles and Ukrainian hryvnias, cannot be exchanged. Therefore, you should not come to this country with rubles in the hope of exchanging them there.
It is worth noting that in the country, unlike many other African states, there are no problems with ATMs and credit cards. In almost any large settlement, you can easily find an ATM or pay with a plastic credit card in a supermarket or cafe.
Conclusion
The Republic of South Africa is a distant exotic country, where millions of foreigners come every year to enjoy the African savannah, go on a safari and watch wild animals in their natural habitat. The Russians have not yet mastered this country, but every year the number of our compatriots who come on vacation 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 is such a distant and exotic country as South Africa.
An important point in the study of 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 clarified all the features associated with the financial side, you can eliminate the likelihood of a number of problems.