St. Helena: Bank Launches New Tourist Card
The Bank of St Helena is introducing a new pre-paid Tourist Card to make it easier for visitors to the island to pay for goods and services when they visit St. Helena and Ascension Islands in the south Atlantic.
Published 2 years ago, updated 8 months ago
St Helena and Ascension Island are two of the most isolated islands in the world, situated in the south Atlantic Ocean. Both islands are predominantly cash-based societies and at present, personal cards such as Visa and Mastercard are not widely accepted on the islands. Visitors either have to carry cash or visit the Bank during opening hours to draw from their card (fees apply) as there are no ATMs on the islands.
Now, to make it easier for travellers – including the yachting and sailing community – the Bank of St Helena has launched a new product for visitors to the islands. Zedella Young, Marketing Manager for the Bank of St Helena Ltd., explains.
“The ‘Tourist Card’ is a virtual pre-paid GBP cash card, that allows visitors to pay for goods and services around the island. Using this virtual card, visitors can tap into the island’s local card payment service known as St Helena Pay – a service available at multiple establishments around both islands,” she said.
“Visitors can apply for the card and have it ready to use when they arrive either on St. Helena or Ascension Islands.
“We suggest that anyone planning to visit us by yacht should apply for their Tourist Card before departing their last port. Due to internet connection on the islands, we would recommend applying, downloading the app and loading money before setting sail for either island.”
The card is free to download and use and can be topped up when needed using a personal bank card (Visa etc).
“When visitors leave, they can unload the funds from their tourist card back to their personal bank – which we also do not charge for,” added Zedella. “The card is virtual so all payments are made using a mobile device on the island’s local card payment service, a QR code payment system. This is available on an app downloaded from the Google Play and Apple Stores.”
Find out more at the St. Helena Bank website.
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Related to following destinations: Ascension Island, Georgetown, Jamestown, St. Helena
Related to the following Cruising Resources: Apps, Atlantic Ocean South, Circumnavigation, Circumnavigation, Planning and Preparation, Routing
Related to the following Services, Goods and Amenities: Bank, Financial Services, Money Transfer
