He Cuban Central Bank (BCC) cleared up some doubts after the announcement this week that it is once again allowing deposits in dollars in financial and banking entities, as well as accepting their receipt in cash.
Yes, US dollars may be deposited in cash on MLC cards (Freely Convertible Currency) and they will carry out currency exchange operations. In other words, “if you are going to deposit USD 100 in cash, USD 100 will be credited to your account,” says the information released this Saturday by various media nationals.
? Banco Central de Cuba responds to concerns of the population about the acceptance of bank deposits in dollars in cash
? https://t.co/as57BvPnkI@aquinbeta @RosaCantillo8 @GarridoYaisel @queiporuiz @BarbaritaAguila pic.twitter.com/YigSLCXBgA— Central Bank of Cuba (@BancoCentralCub) April 14, 2023
Likewise, dollars can be extracted when the client needs them, but this will depend on availability; Therefore, if the requested amount does not exist, the bank will take the data and notify you later.
As an alternative, it will be possible to extract other currencies that operate in the country, such as the Australian dollar, New Mexican peso, British pound, Norwegian krone, Japanese yen, among others.
Also, the collection of cash sent from abroad is maintained at the official exchange rate.
Regarding the prepaid cards designed for the use of tourists, the BCC reports that they will continue to operate as at present, “but their acquisition may also be with USD in cash.”
The authorities warn that the same causes that led to the fact that cash deposits of US dollars were not accepted in 2021 are still present.
Both the demand (when withdrawing from bank accounts) and the purchase (with pesos) were above what existed in cash. And by not entering dollars in the banks, the coffers were decreasing.
Dollar yes, dollar no, dollar yes: What is convenient, finally?
“With the implementation of the exchange market in August 2022, this situation improved, but it did not satisfy the demand,” the text underlines. Although they hope that by allowing the deposit of dollars this situation should improve.
dollars to travel abroad
People who want to leave the country may withdraw up to five thousand dollars in cash from their foreign currency accounts or its equivalent in other currencies that do not require a declaration from the traveler. “As of that amount, authorization from the BCC must be requested,” they clarify.
If the foreign currency requested is not available, the customer’s data will also be taken and they will be notified, although they do not clarify how many days this operation could take.
Finally, they indicate that the conditions regarding the Certificates of Deposits in foreign currency are maintained and until now only the total or partial withdrawal in Cuban pesos is allowed at the rate of one dollar for one hundred and twenty pesos.
On April 10, the official Gazette Extraordinary No. 26 made public Resolution 63 of 2023 of the BCC that repeals a 2021 resolution that prohibited the acceptance of the US dollar in cash by banks and non-bank financial institutions.
In social networks, the opinions of the population and specialists tend to be diverse: some distrust the measure, others believe that it is a good step in the midst of the severe economic crisis that the island is experiencing; also it has been opined that it is a new “sewn to the ambitious, but poorly designed and poorly applied legal reform.”
