DAMMAM: Saudi citizens who travel to Bahrain are complaining that fewer establishments are accepting the Saudi riyal, and instead are shafting Saudi visitors on the exchange rate. Dahi Al-Barak, a Saudi from Dammam, said that in the past he was not required to exchange currency. Not any more, he says.
"We used to use Saudi riyals in all our transactions in Bahrain without any need to exchange the currency. It was fixed, every SR10 was one Bahraini dinar," said Al-Barak, adding that he would now withdraw money from banks since they don't charge as much as retailers and businesses.
Alkhobar resident Salah Al-Alwan said that this financial change would negatively affect the tourism sector in Bahrain. "There is a need to monitor the accounting and find solutions to this problem," he said.
Ibrahim Aish, who visits Bahrain almost every week, said that he expects a black market to emerge in currency conversions. "More Bahrainis need Saudi riyals now due to the Haj season," he said, adding that the rate fluctuations are unreasonable since both currencies are linked to the US dollar.
By Faiz Al-Mazrouie
© Arab News 2008
