The suspension of sending money to Cuba by Western Union from third countries comes into force

The suspension of sending money to Cuba by Western Union from third countries –outside the United States– came into force this February 26, as The company had announced it a couple of weeks ago.

The company confirmed this Thursday the implementation of the restriction in a message sent to CyberCuba.

"We understand the impact this may have on our customers and will continue to follow up directly with them throughout this situation," said Margaret D. Fogarty, Western Union spokesperson for the Americas.

The measure restricts the issuance of financial transfers to branches in the territory of the United States and Puerto Rico, through the corporation's mobile application, through the WU.com digital page or through retail stores.

Sending money to relatives on the Island can no longer be done from any other country, as has happened since 2016 with the authorization of the United States Department of the Treasury.

CyberCuba was able to verify that, from Spain, the transfer can no longer be made. Other countries such as Mexico, where the service had already been canceled a few years ago, will not have the possibility of reestablishing it either.

After the decision of the Donald Trump administration to limit the sending of family remittances to the Island to $1,000 dollars per quarter and eliminate donations to Cuban citizens from the United States, the new measure represents another barrier to receiving money from residents in Cuba.

The flow, however, will not be considerably affected, since 85% of remittances to Cuba are sent from the United States, and in third countries the option of banks and agencies is used more.

In addition to the restriction on shipments from third countries, Western Union is also considering Deliver remittances to Cuba in US dollars, that currently arrive in CUC, which would allow direct deposits to be made in magnetic cards enabled for new foreign currency stores, which have operated on the Island since October 2019.

Western Union, headquartered in Denver, Colorado, provides money transfer services to Cuba through more than 420 branches located in 168 municipalities in the country. Although the company does not report data on the value of its transactions, it is the largest operator of the $3.5 billion that annually arrive in remittances to recipients based on the island.