Huge queue to withdraw cash from the ATM of the Ministry of Finance in Havana

A long line to access the ATMs at the Ministry of Finance and Prices was documented this Tuesday by the opposition Silverio Portal

“The line is long for the cashier, in the same Ministry of Finance and Prices,” Portal commented.who documented the dozens of people waiting to access the ATM which is located at the entrance to the ministry building.

The shortage of cash inATMs throughout the country It is resulting in long lines to try to be the first to access the little money that the machines deliver each day.

At the beginning of August, the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) imposedstrong control over cash through measures aimed at banking collection and payment transactions between all actors in the economy, a process aimed at minimizing the use of cash.

The crisis generatedcomplaints from people who cannot even withdraw their salaries due to lack of funds at ATMs. Social networks realizea general malaise among a population fed up with each new measure, which only aggravates the economic crisis, parallel to inflation that empties the pockets of workers and pensioners.

Meanwhile, Alberto Quiñones Betancourt, vice president of the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC), said on national television that the lack of cash in ATMs in Cuba is not a consequence of banking and assured that "banking is the response to a better service to the people.”

He recognized thatthe situation with cash is “critical”, with a high level of demand and low deposits in bank branches, but stated that the priority for the BCC is to have cash available for the Cuban population, families, retirees and workers.