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ricky raj

hello,
is there any problem with using magnetic stripe based cards in Bahrain?are chip based cards necessary?

relwell

My US based bank card last year worked fine.  If it is an out of country card just be mindful of any home-account restrictions you may have such as: location restrictions, draft fees, and withdraw caps.  Sending an email or a call to your bank will likely solve this quickly.

logicalindian

Hi

I guess it would also depend on the terminal used (swipe) with the card, some terminals may not support Magnetic strip based cards since in Bahrain everyone uses chip based cards.

T&R

ricky raj

thank yu relwel and logical indian.any idea atms in airport will take magnetic stripe ones or not?

logicalindian

Hi,

without trying i guess there would be no other way to know about it.

T&R

capriole

Most ATMs and POS should be able to process both magstripe cards and chip cards. The question is whether the issuer of the card allows international use and what are the limits of it. For example middle east countries could be blocked by the card issuer so the best bet is to check with your bank. Alternatively if you are coming from US you could ask for a chip card which could be used abroad.

Another point you need to be aware when using magnetic stripe based card is that the  risk of fraud is greater so if I was you I would keep monitoring closely my transactions.

ricky raj

thanks capriole

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