ATM access in Vic Falls (Zambian side)
 

Hello,

I was looking through the notes from my trip and found something which may be of interest to people planning a visit to the Zambian side of Vic Falls.

ATMs in Livingstone will only accept debit cards with a Visa symbol. If your debit card has a MC symbol you can still get money but you will need to go into the bank and do it at the counter, so you need to do it during banking hours and will probably have to queue.

If you do need to go into the bank, you'll get a slightly better exchange rate by withdrawing Kwacha at the counter and exchanging for dollars at a bureau de change.

Cheers,
Julian

Thanks for the info...So bank ATMs (I have wells fargo regular atm, not a check card) won't work? I'm not leaving til end of July, so was planning to check with the bank itself.]

Do most places take visa credit card?

Thanks,

Heather

Hello Heather,

If your card doesn't have a Visa or MC logo, you may run into problems. I'd recommend seeing if you can get one with a Visa logo before you go.

It does seem like almost everywhere takes Visa -- as Lynn said, 'It's everywhere you want to be.' MC is accepted at most (but not all) places, and AmEx is accepted at many places in SA and at big international hotels in most countries.

Places that take Discover or Diners are extremely rare in the UK (and even rarer in Africa) which is why I cancelled both those cards a long time ago.

Cheers,
Julian

Julian,
Did you notice if the ATM had a Plus (Visa's ATM processing network) symbol? If so, then a plain ole ATM card (vs a Visa logo'd debit card) will work.

From the Discover's FAQs:

<i>Where is my Discover&reg; Card accepted outside of the U.S.? Cards are currently accepted in Canada, Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean and China.</i>

So it should be a bit beyond extremely rare ;)

Hello Patty,

No wonder...it's been a long time since I visited Mexico or Canada.

I didn't see the Plus symbol on the ATM (or the Star symbol).

Personally, if it's easy to get a Visa logo card from the bank I'd recommend doing it -- better safe than cash-less in Vic Falls, when visas and such all have to be paid in cash.

Cheers,
Julian