Visa Electron in Africa ??
 

Hi,

How popular is Visa Electron in Africa, mainly for cash points/ATMs?
Just as widely accepted as VISA or should I apply for a VISA Classic before leaving?

MasterCard is useless over there, right?

Need it for London-Cape Town trip, don't know which route yet.

Regards,
Witek

Take both, just to be sure, i'm finding out the hard way how difficult it is if your cards are not accepted (or if your bank cancels them). Mastercard is no good.
Take travellers cheques and plenty of cash as back up, especially for countries where ATM's don't exist (Mauritania, Mali) or the alternatives are cumbersome.
Sean

I have a regular Visa debit card and worked at all ATMs I ever encountered. I also carried cash, but all West African capital cities had several ATM's. Withdraw at ATM's and conserve your cash on hand for when you have to exchange on the marche noir.
Travellers cheques are useless and you get hammered with commissions if you try to exchange them. Very few places in West Africa accept them.
Better to exchange cash in the marche noir/black market. If in West Africa, the Euro is widely welcomed and is also a fixed rate since the CFA is pegged to the Euro around 655 CFA to 1 Euro.
BUT be aware, if you change money on the black market, make sure you are familiar with the currency so you don't get counterfeit money.
Hope that helps.

Cape Town
 

I see you're flying to Cape Town - I live there. I use a VISA all the time, and my wife uses a MasterCard.