St Helena Island and Ascension Island have limited payment card services outside of Bank of St Helena and there are no ATMs available on either island. This has required previous visitors to carry their money as cash when they visit the islands, or visit the Bank whenever they require additional money during their visit. The Tourist Card allows visitors to access their money on a virtual prepaid GBP cash card, and top up the amount on the card whenever they require additional money to use around St Helena and Ascension Island.

 It’s a prepaid Bank of St Helena card that allows you to load GBP currency onto it.  Tourist Cards can be used island-wide at merchants that offers the island’s St Helena pay service, or to obtain local currency using the St Helena Pay cashback service.

Tourist Cards can be used at all locations offering St Helena Pay. For a full list, please visit here.

Internet connectivity is not needed for you to present your Tourist Card for payment; this does not require an app login, view here. Tourist Card app and web account logins will require an internet connectivity.

No, only Tourist Cards and the local cards (known as Local Debit Cards) can use St Helena Pay to make card payments.

No, the cards use QR technology and St Helena Pay merchants will be required to scan your Tourist Card’s QR code presented via the Tourist Card App to process a payment.

No, the Tourist Card is only accessible through the Tourist Card App.

Money transfers are not permitted.

To view the Terms and Conditions click here.

* Card Issuing Bank fees may apply.  Contact your card issuer for clarification.

• A valid email address
• Mobile device to download Tourist Card App
• A valid international Card to perform online card loads and top ups. We are able to accept debit and credit card payments from Visa, MasterCard, Diners, Discover and American Express, as well as digital wallets Apple pay, Google Pay and PayPal.

Tourist Card registration can be completed here.

 Click here to download the App.

 Re-register.  Another registration email will be sent.  Re-register here.

Tourist Cards are initially loaded, and then optionally topped up, via our Tourist Card Online Portal.  Cardholders will be required to register a payment card for this purpose.  We are able to accept debit and credit card payments from Visa, MasterCard, Diners, Discover and American Express, as well as digital wallets Apple pay, Google Pay and PayPal.

Card top up’s can be performed by logging into our Tourist Card Online Portal.

 Only the Pounds Sterling currency can be loaded.

The system works in real-time and should be available shortly after an approved card load has been made.

A Tourist card application is an online application only, and digital cards are issued immediately following your successful registration.  You will be prompted to activate your card during your registration and your digital card will be available to use in 24 hours.

When requiring cash, you can request cashback at locations offering the Cashback Service with St Helena Pay. Please be advised, cashback eligibility and amounts vary per business – please speak to a sales assistance for cashback details at the business outlet.

Alternatively, card holders can visit the Bank of St Helena Branch or Remote Banking Sites for cashback, but this will incur a charge, please refer to the fees section above.

Please be advised, cashback can only be given in multiples of £5.

There are no ATMs on St Helena Island or Ascension Island.

The last seven days of transaction history can be viewed via the Mobile App, for a full list of transaction history you will need to access your account using the Tourist Card Online Portal.

Merchant card payments will always be made in the local currency, St Helena Pounds (SHP).  Currency exchange rates will not apply.

 The easiest way is to use our Tourist Card mobile app.  This will clearly show what your remaining balance is in the GBP currency.

Use the Tourist card unload feature, available to use within your Tourist Card Online Portal.  Remaining card balances can be unloaded to the card used to load and top up the tourist card.  You will be prompted for your Tourist card PIN to initiate the unload, and then your international card verification value (CVV), which can be found on the back of your card (3 digits).

The Tourist Card will automatically become inactive after three months of inactivity. If you return to the island after this time you are eligible to apply for a new card.

Your personal information is pertained to your personal Tourist Card. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information here.

PIN and / or Security Number resets can be performed via the Tourist Card Online Portal. A reset validation email will be sent, so you will need to ensure you are able to access the email account used to register for the service.

Both the PIN and Security Number are 6 digits long. A Card PIN is used to authorise Tourist Card payment transactions when paying for goods and services. Your Security Number is used to confirm your identity when contacting the Bank.

You are able to report your card lost or stolen by logging into your Tourist Card Online Portal.  Reporting your card lost or stolen will automatically place a card block on your card.  A request for a replacement card is also available within your portal.  Optionally, you can contact us on +290 22829, we will cancel your card and issue a replacement tourist card if desired.

If you think you have misplaced your card and want peace of mind, you can freeze spend on your card using the suspend card feature, found in your Tourist Card Online Portal.  You can unfreeze just as easily if you find your card again.

A request for a new card can be completed in your Tourist Card Online Portal.

Use the Forgot your Password option on the Tourist Card Portal password entry page.

Contact Us.

No need to queue, go to Customer Services counter 5 (St Helena Branch).