Tristan da Cunha Store News

Card payments now possible on Tristan

Report and photos from Administrator Philip Kendall

During my time on island, I have used the term "game changing" many times, from high-speed internet to solar energy. The card machines also fall into this category. The ability to take credit card payments from tourists and other visitors means that they aren’t limited by the amount of cash they carry, which is often not very much.

FCDO Desk Officer, Charles Wickham with Lorraine Repetto, Head of the Treasury Department makes the first ever card payment on Tristan on the 5th November 2025.

A big thank you must go to Chief Finance Officer Paul Mapasure, who has persevered for the best part of two years to get the banks to recognise the need and offer us the facility to take the payments. Thanks too, to FCDO Desk Officer, Charles Wickham, for bringing the two card machines with him when he arrived last week.

We only have two machines for now, as we want to test them and make sure they work for us. The early indications are good and we have taken payments from various types of card, both with a PIN and contactless. I even used Apple Pay on my phone (other mobile payment options are available) to buy my lunch on Wednesday, and I heard that one of the visitors made a contactless payment using his watch.

Iris and Rachel Green open for card payments in the café at the Post Office and Tourism Centre

Like most modern payment systems, this comes at a cost to us, hence the 5% service charge which we are passing on to the customer.

At the moment we have the facility only in Tourism and the Post Office but hope to roll it out further once we are happy that it works.

Tristan penguins checking in

Hi Tristan Family

Sorry it has taken so long to write, but after saying goodbye from a stall at Prince Phillip Hall and leaving on the SH Diana* around this time last year, we are now living in sunny Perth, Australia, where we have a very important job of guarding the whiskey. We hope that our maker/mother sees this email to know that we are proudly on display on the other side of the world.

Tristan penguins guarding the whiskey in Perth, Australia

Our adopted owner really enjoyed visiting Tristan and promised us that one day he will visit again and bring both of us home to say hi.

Sent on the penguins behalf by Paul Culmsee

* The SH Diana visited Tristan on the 18th November 2024. See our Visit report.

Impact of Trump's tariffs on Tristan's USA customers

Due to a recent Executive Order in the United States ending the de minimis duty-free exemption for low-value imports, many postal administrations worldwide, including the South African Post Office (through which all Tristan post is handled), have temporarily suspended mail services to the USA while a new payment system is being implemented. As a result, US orders for Tristan stamps, handicrafts and souvenirs will be securely held by the Tristan da Cunha Post Office & Tourism Centre until we are notified that mail services to the USA have resumed. We sincerely apologise for this delay and any inconvenience caused. If customers have any questions or would like further information, please don't hesitate to contact the Post Office (postoffice@tdc-gov.com) or Tourism (tourism@tdc-gov.com).

Notification from the Tourism Centre 26th September 2025