American company Western Union announced this thursday that it is already possible to send remittances to Cuba from any of its offices in the United States. The company, which had carried out a pilot experience of transfers to the Island only from Florida, will use the payment channels of the Cuban agency Orbit SA, which means that Cubans will receive their money in freely convertible currency (MLC) directly in their bank account.
Western Union had launched a test phase since last January 4, to evaluate the possibility of extending the transactions to the Island to the entire United States territory. With Orbit mediation – a Havana-based agency that allows the Cuban government to monitor remittances and transform them into MLC – Cubans will receive the amount sent on the currency cards of Banco Popular de Ahorro, Banco de Crédito y Comercio and Banco Metropolitano.
The brief note published in this regard by the official press ensures that Orbit “will keep the population informed about the official channels that it incorporates into its management.”
According to Cubadebate, Orbit successfully managed remittances from Europe and Canada. It clarifies that Western Union transfers are a “legitimate activity” that has been working for Cuba since 1995 and that it only stopped when Donald Trump sanctioned the processors Fincimex and AIS, for their ties to Gaesa, the Cuban military conglomerate then led by Luis Alberto Rodríguez López-Calleja, former son-in-law of Raúl Castro who died in 2022.
It clarifies that Western Union transfers are a “legitimate activity” that has been working for Cuba since 1995 and that it only stopped when Donald Trump sanctioned the processors Fincimex and AIS
With the flexibility of the Joe Biden Administration for sending remittances, the company activated its pilot test from supermarkets, pharmacies, small businesses, cafeterias, telephone stores and travel agencies in 65 locations in Florida.
At the beginning of 2023, the president of the North American division of Western Union, Gabriella Fitzgerald, announced “with great pleasure” the reestablishment of the service and stated that the funds could arrive on the Island the same day if they were sent before noon. .
Cubadebate readers found the announcement by Orbit and Western Union ambiguous and demanded more details from both companies. It is “the same as now”, a reader stated with disappointment, alluding to the fact that the cash deposited in the US would be transformed into MLC as soon as it reached the bank accounts on the island.
The announcement has also raised suspicions about the usefulness of receiving money in MLC, when stores where you can only buy with a card face growing shortages.
“The information must be more complete,” demanded the readers, who are also not satisfied with the fact that the dollar in cash does not reach Cuban homes, as was done in the past. Others, mocking, affirmed that the news “neither gives nor takes anything away from the Cubans, quite the contrary.”
________________________
Collaborate with our work:
The team of 14ymedio He is committed to doing serious journalism that reflects the reality of deep Cuba. Thank you for accompanying us on this long road. We invite you to continue supporting us, but this time becoming a member of our newspaper. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
