The Cuban Government approved a new system for the management, control and allocation of currency, which gives the green light to transactions under its authorization in foreign currencies, as well as to their circulation on the island.
This mechanism is based on a decree-law and three complementary regulations. published this Thursday in the Official Gazette.
The same applies to legal entities, both national and foreign, as well as to natural persons “that carry out economic activity, local development projects and international cooperation.” as explained the Minister of Economy, Joaquín Alonso Vázquez.
In practice, what is established is a new boost to the dollarization process on the island, although the new regulations ensure that it is a “temporary measure.”
“The authorization of foreign currency transactions is a temporary measure to boost economic activity, promote linkages between the different economic actors and generate a favorable environment that contributes to the increase in the country’s foreign currency income, until the existing macroeconomic imbalances are resolved,” the decree-law states.
For her part, the president of the Central Bank of Cuba, Juana Lilia Delgado Portal, confirmed to Cubadebate that what has now been approved “creates a ‘legal umbrella’ to temporarily authorize foreign currency transactions within the country, in response to the partial dollarization of some sectors.”
“A temporary deadline is set because we have not given up on the objective of recovering a monetary environment where the Cuban peso is the center of the monetary and financial system,” he stated.
| With the publication today of Decree Law 113, approved by the Council of State, and resolutions 140 of the @MEP_CUBA; and 125 and 126 of the @BancoCentralCuba new mechanism has been established for the management, control and allocation of currencies in the country. pic.twitter.com/lffIXAj5e5
— Government of Cuba (@GobiernoCuba) December 11, 2025
“Legal update”
The decree-law, which will come into force on December 17, aims to “update the legal regime relating to foreign currency transactions in the national economy with the purpose of increasing the country’s income in said currencies.”
Likewise, it seeks to “stimulate the national production of goods and services until the conditions of the economy allow it and the Cuban peso is resumed as the only legal currency in the country, with due control by State institutions.”
The legislation empowers the Minister of Economy “to authorize foreign currency transactions in the national economy”, while he and the President of the BCC are responsible for establishing “the requirements and procedures that must be met to carry out foreign currency transactions that can be carried out in the national economy.”
It also allows the BCC to “authorize other banknotes not issued by it to be legal tender,” which represents the officialization of the circulation and use of foreign currencies in the country.
In this regard, the president of the entity explained that with this, these currencies can “be used in collection and payment operations in foreign currency between economic actors residing in Cuba.”
For his part, the head of Economy pointed out that “the rule is based on the experience of the last ten years of operation of the economy” and stressed that it “makes foreign currency transactions viable” on the island.
“Let us remember that during the Ordering Task the dollarization that existed in the economy was eliminated and all transactions became in Cuban pesos,” he noted, while denying that the provisions are “building capitalism with the partial dollarization of the economy.”
From dollarization to fiscal stabilization: priorities for an economy that fails to grow
No new rate yet and benefit to exporters
Although the new regulations repeatedly refer to the exchange rate, they do not establish a new rate, as Prime Minister Manuel Marrero had announced would be done in the second half of this year.
Nevertheless, Alonso Vázquez assured without detailing that the new measure “is intertwined with the relaunch of the exchange market” and “establishes the bases for the future exchange transformations that must be carried out as part of the Government Program.”
Regarding the complementary regulations to the decree-law, Cubadebate summarizes that the resolution of the Ministry of Economy “establishes the bases for implementing the new mechanism and authorizes certain foreign currency transactions in the national economy”, while those of BCC “regulate the operation of foreign currency accounts and the operating mechanisms of the Foreign Exchange Access Capacity Allocations (ACAD)”.
The latter, he specifies, will serve to allocate foreign currency to “economic actors subject to the economic plan that do not generate it, but require it for prioritized economic activities.”
The new legal framework, affirm the Cuban authorities, “especially benefits exporters, those who receive external financing, those who market on online platforms, those who substitute imports and foreign investment.”
In addition, it specifies the “legitimate sources” for access to foreign currency by economic actors, including income from exports, electronic commerce and financing from abroad, donations and sales in the Mariel Special Zone.
All transactions must have authorization from the Ministry of Economy, although, according to the head of the sector, the regulations establish “the procedures so that the entities authorized to carry out these transactions retain an important part of that currency generated.” This, he said, must guarantee “the liquidity of your accounts” and “dispose of them freely, especially to reproduce your fundamental activity or others that allow you to multiply your income.”
The regulations provide that the State retains 20% of the foreign currency of certain actors and operations. For example, income from sales through international cards and sales through foreign investment modalities, among others, details a report from the agency. EFE.
The new legal package comes to light in the midst of a worsening economic crisis on the island, which until now has not been able to be reversed by government policies. In this context, the authorities have limited monetary withdrawals to both natural and legal persons, a situation that even affects foreign companies and embassies in the country.
