At least 150 ATMs remain out of service in Havana

At least150 ATMs remain out of service in Havana due to lack of spare parts, reported the management of Banco Metropolitano S.A. in the Cuban capital.

"Have150 ATMs out of service due to lack of spare parts, due to breaks in the dispenser module and keyboard," stated the state entity in response to a complaint from the newspaper journalistWorkers Francisco Rodríguez Cruz.

The bank pointed out that thanks to "inventiveness of our technicians we have been able to fix some" ATMs, but they require "replacement due to theirtechnological obsolescence".

"Until now we do not have an immediate response" for the recovery of thecashiers, through which more than 160 million pesos move daily in the country, indicated the banking institution.

Of the 150 broken, the entityhas left some machines for electronic operations and balance inquiries exclusively. These have a sticker that identifies them, otherwise it could be a technical problem, he clarified.

The Metropolitan Bank added that in addition to the broken ATMs, there are others that require assistance daily, for which they would spend several hours disabled.

Amid the complaints, the bank mentioned some domestic alternatives to mitigate the problem, such as "increasing electronic charges for all agents that provide services or sell merchandise."

Additionally, customers can use theExtra Box service, through which the commercial units will deliver cash to clients, and for which 1,904 warehouses have been enabled.

Users can use the TransferMóvil or EnZona option, and one branch per municipality opens until 7:30 p.m. from Monday to Saturday to reinforce cash operations, he explained.

Finally, he said that a group of branches – at least one per municipality – work on Sundays until 3:30 p.m. to strengthen clients' cash operations.

Problems with ATMs have been reported in Cuba since last year. In the midst of the energy crisis, many stopped working forlack of eletricity andothers were left without tickets, causing outrage in the population.

The day before, the government announced that given the difficulties and long lines to withdraw cash from electronic ATMs in Cuba, the authoritieswill limit cash withdrawals to MSMEs, self-employed workers and other economic actors in the private sector.