101 vs 201 Dumps: What the Service Code Tells You
The difference between a 101 and a 201 dump is one digit and it changes everything about what you can do with the card. 101 means no PIN. 201 means the card requires one.
Contents
Reading the service code
The service code is three digits at the end of Track 2, right after the expiry. The first digit is the one that matters:
| 1xx | No PIN. Signature or online use. No ATM for cash with PIN. |
| 2xx | PIN required. Works at a terminal with the digits and at an ATM. |
| 5xx / 6xx | PIN preferred, signature allowed on some terminals. |
The second and third digits are about authorisation limits and geography, not PIN. Sellers quote only the first digit when they call something a “201”.
Price and use case
101 dumps: $12 to $20. Used at a cashier with a signature or nothing at all. Fine on groceries, fuel under the contactless limit, small retail. Cannot take an ATM withdrawal.
201 dumps with PIN: $35 to $70. Cashier with the digits, and crucially the ATM. Cash in hand, no resale step, no drop.
201 also carries a lower fraud-check rate at some terminals because a correct PIN is itself a signal of legitimacy. That is a genuine advantage, not just a matter of the ATM.
Why 101 is not redundant
Because the price gap is roughly three times, and a 101 pack is the cheapest way to learn the writing side. Five 101s cost $75; five 201s cost $250. Break the cheap ones while your read-back habit is still forming.
101 also stays useful later for goods you actually want. There is no resale step when you are spending the card on your own shopping, and a 201’s PIN advantage is wasted if you never touch an ATM.
Learn on 101, cash on 201
Practise writing on cheap 101 stock until a read-back verifies first time, every time. Only then buy 201s, because a badly written 201 wastes $50 instead of $15.
The trap in “201” listings
Some sellers label a 101 dump as 201 and let you find out at the ATM. Check the service code in the dump string yourself before writing anything. If the fourth character after the equals sign is a 1, it is not a PIN dump no matter what the listing said.
The other trap is a PIN supplied without a service code that supports it. The digits are useless if the stripe says signature-only.
Mixing packs
Once operational, buy mostly 201 and keep a small stock of 101 for retail. A working 201 goes to the ATM inside the hour. A 101 goes to the supermarket where the queue is long and nobody looks at a signature.
Related: the dumps guide and dumps without PIN.
