The Havana Electric Company announced the suspension of cash collection in four of its commercial offices as of August 1st.
Customers in the towns of Plaza, Nuevo Vedado, Playa and Santa Fe will no longer be able to pay their electricity bill at the windows of those establishments, nor will their meter readers provide this service.
"The windows of these commercial offices will be closed. We are committed to the computerization of society. If you have any questions, you can contact us at 18888," the company stated on its message board.Facebook.
This is the beginning of the pilot test of theZero Cash campaign, through which the government intends to progressively implement the collection of the electricity bill electronically and eliminate payment by paper receipt.
In the months of September, October and November, other commercial offices will be added.
In a note published in the weeklyTribune, the company reminds its users that they can use Enzona, Transfermóvil, ATMs, telebanking and post offices.
"Measures will be taken so that people who do not have access to these platforms are not left unprotected and can make payment for the service. (...) You can contact us at phone number 18888, and on the profiles on our social networks," he said.
Last June, the Electric Company ofSantiago de Cuba began collecting the electricity bill electronically, with the aim of migrating from the traditional method using paper receipts to new forms of payment.
"With this modality you gain security, collectors do not have to manipulate and transfer large sums of money from one place to another; this new form of collection in a first stage will only be carried out in the urban and suburban areas of the province, while that in those that are difficult to access, the collection readers will remain," explained the commercial director of the entity, Norgelis Argüelles.
The company recognized that the progressive elimination of collecting its bills in person at home is aimed atprotect the lives of your workers and prevent them from traveling with large amounts of money, although it has not mentioned whether assaults on bill collectors have occurred in recent times, in a context marked by the increase in crime throughout the country.
Although the state press has not mentioned it, there is also a banknote deficit in the country, so the authorities' bet is on digital banking. Already in other provincesThis modality was implemented, due to the lack of paper to print invoices.
However, the intended computerization of services in Cuba collides with the efficiency of digital applications created by the government, which often present technical problems or suddenly interrupt and modify their services.
Last October, the Electrical Union (UNE) suspended the payment of electricity through electronic platforms like ENZONA and Transfermóvil because "technical problems on the servers."
"The payment of the electricity bill through the electronic platforms Transfermóvil and ENZONA is stopped due to technical problems in the servers. We are working to restore the service in the shortest time possible," reported the UNE.
The period of suspension of this service was not defined by the UNE at that time. Transfermóvil and ENZONA are cell phone applications widely used by the population because they avoid having to wait in long lines at the offices of state companies to pay for services.
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