Make a payment

Making a payment to Expert Africa

We work with travellers who live all over the world, and we regularly make bookings in UK Pounds (GB£), US Dollars (US$) and Euros (€). The price and currency that we agree at the ‘quote’ stage and when we start your booking remains fixed – we'll honour these, regardless of how the world's exchange rates vary! So you have the peace of mind of knowing exactly how much your holiday will cost you.

The options for making payment are detailed below; and different methods can be used to pay parts of the same booking. For example often deposits are paid by credit card, for speed and convenience; whilst bank drafts are used to settle large balances, to avoid any commission charges. The options are:

Price agreed in UK Sterling (GB£)

  • Deposit: GB£450 per person for bookings of under GB£3,000 per person, or 15% of the value of the trip for bookings over this level.
  • Full payment: To have reached us (cleared in our bank) eight weeks before travel, or received immediately for bookings made within that time.

Payment methods for Sterling:

    • Direct bank transfers (nett of any bank charges) are accepted without any surcharges. Online banking can make this very easy.
    • Debit cards which are issued in the UK such as Connect, Switch and Maestro cards, are accepted without any surcharges.
    • Personal cheques from UK banks are accepted without any surcharges; please allow 5 working days to clear.
    • Credit cards are accepted, although we must add a levy to cover the transaction costs which we are charged. These are:
      • Visa and MasterCard payments: 2%.
      • American Express: 3%.
      Beware: credit cards issued by companies outside the UK (or denominated in currencies other than GB£ Sterling) may also charge you, the cardholder, a direct and additional charge (typically 3%) for a “foreign currency transaction" like this. Check your credit card’s fine print before paying this way.

Price agreed in US Dollars (US$)

  • Deposit: US$700 per person for bookings of under US$4,500 per person, or 15% of the value of the trip for bookings over this level.
  • Full payment: To have reached us (cleared in our bank) eight weeks before travel, or received immediately for bookings made within that time.

Payment methods for US Dollars:

By far the best way to pay the costs of a trip is:
    • Direct bank transfers in US Dollars to our USD account (nett of all bank charges) are accepted. Please cover any bank charges from your side, and add to the transfer amount an extra payment of US$10 to cover our bank's charges.
The other possible alternatives are:
    • Credit cards (billed in US$) are accepted, although we must add a levy to cover the transaction costs which we are charged. These are:
      • Visa and MasterCard payments: 2%.
      • American Express: 3%.
      Beware: if your credit card is not billed in US$, then your card company is likely to charge you, the cardholder, an additional direct charge for making a “foreign currency transaction". Read your credit agreement’s fine print before paying this way; it is typically 3%.
    • Cashier's checks are arranged at your bank and typically cost only about US$30-40 to issue, plus postage. Cashier’s checks are usually a good way to pay because they clear through the bank system quicker than personal checks do. Although this makes a cashier's check the best type of check to pay with, we are charged for cashing it, so US$40 should be added to any amount paid by cashier's check to cover our bank charges. Full payment made by cashier’s check must be settled 12 weeks before travel, as on occasion they can take up to four weeks to fully clear through the banking system.
    • Personal checks in US Dollars are accepted provided the check for full payment is received by us 16 weeks before travel; these can take up to eight weeks to completely clear through the banking system. Regrettably for this reason, we cannot accept a US Dollar personal check for any bookings made within 16 weeks of the travel date.
    • Debit card payments in US Dollars to our US Dollar account are accepted, nett of any charges, and Expert Africa doesn’t charge any surcharges for these. However, in the past some travellers have been charged substantial commissions (4% in one case) by the banking system, and we can’t be responsible for these. Because of this, we do not recommend payment by any debit card issued outside the UK.

Price agreed in Euros (€)

  • Deposit: EU€500 per person for bookings of under EU€3,500 per person, or 15% of the value of the trip for bookings over this level.
  • Full payment: Due to reach us (cleared in our bank) eight weeks before travel, or immediately for bookings made within that time.

Payment methods for Euros:

By far the best way to pay the costs of a trip is:
    • Direct bank transfers in Euros to our Euro account (nett of all bank charges) are accepted without any surcharges. Please cover any bank charges from your side, and add to the transfer amount an extra payment of EU€8 to cover our bank's charges.
The other possible alternatives are:
    • Cashier's cheques (are arranged at your bank and are usually a good way to pay – typically costing only about EU€30-40 to issue, plus postage. Although this makes a cashier's cheque the best type of cheque to pay with, we are charged for cashing it, so EU€40 should be added to any amount paid by cashier's cheque to cover our bank charges. Full payment made by cashier’s cheque must be settled 12 weeks before travel, as on occasion they can take up to four weeks to fully clear through the banking system.
    • Credit card payments are accepted. However, because we can only charge a credit card in either UK£ Sterling or US Dollars (not in Euros), we will have to convert the agreed Euro amount into Sterling at the exchange rate on the day of payment. We also have to add a levy to cover the transaction costs which we are charged; this is:
      • Visa and MasterCard payments: 2%.
      • American Express: 3%.
      Beware: many credit card companies will also charge you, the cardholder, a direct and additional charge (typically of about 3%) for a foreign currency transaction like this; read your credit agreement’s fine print before paying this way.
    • Personal cheques in Euros are accepted provided full payment is settled 16 weeks before travel. Regrettably, we cannot accept a Euro personal cheque for any bookings made within 16 weeks of the travel date as this will take between six to eight weeks to clear with the bank.
    • Debit card payments in Euros are accepted, but we do not recommend this as a good payment method. We can only charge a debit card in either UK£ Sterling or US Dollars, not directly in Euros. Because of this, we will have to convert the agreed Euro amount into Sterling at the exchange rate on the day of payment. You, the cardholder, are likely to be charged a direct and additional levy (typically 3-4%) for a “foreign currency transaction" by your card issuer – which is payable by you. Please check your debit card’s fine print before paying this way.