Havana Cuba. — On August 4, resolutions No. 126/2022 and No. 127/2022 of the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) related to the foreign exchange market entered into force. As of that date, the rate of official change it became 1 USD x 120 CUP.
After the announcement of the measure, Marta Sabina Wilson González, president of that entity, specified that the old exchange rate of 1 USD x 24 CUP would be maintained for “specific activities”, including the processing of top-ups from abroad.
“Tell your relatives not to recharge from abroad, they are giving their money to ETECSA. They maintain the price of the dollar at 24 Cuban pesos for these supposed offers, when the real value of the dollar in Cuba is much higher,” Raydel González, a computer technician who owns a mobile phone repair shop in Havana, told this newspaper.
ETECSA’s new recharge offer from abroad will come into force from next September 12. The promotion will cost around 20 dollars and includes 500 CUP of main balance, 5 GB and 60 minutes of calls.
“In the informal market, the exchange rate is above 150 CUP for every dollar, 20 dollars would be about 3,000 CUP, buying combined plans here in Cuba in Cup you could buy 6 plans of 3.5 GB, 3G + 4.5 GB of LTE + 75 minutes plus 80 SMS. We are talking about 21 GB of 3G, 27 GB of 4G, 450 minutes of calls and 480 SMS. We all went to school, they used to say that this was the most cultured country in the world and now they want to make us look like fools,” added Raydel.
For this reason, top-ups from abroad are no longer attractive. Some Cubans on the island already consider them “a full-fledged scam.”
“I compared the ETECSA promotion of 500 Cup with 20 USD with what could be done with the same money with refills without promotion in Cuba 20 USD = 2,400 CUP,” Justo Luis Torres García posted on Facebook.
Just for top-ups from abroad, the Cuban regime annually receives millions of dollars in foreign currency, which are channeled through the Cuban Telecommunications Company (ETECSA).
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