Although the regime in Cuba has promoted theaccelerated and mandatory banking, during the last seven months, in practice, the government measure is not complied with in many state entities of Santiago de Cuba and this harmsresidents who cannot access cash.
According to the digital edition of the newspaperSierra Maestra, a tour of gastronomy centers in the eastern city was recently carried out and numerous problems were discovered in the application of this government provision.
In the Parque de los Sueños, few stalls accepted virtual payment options, “and since at the time of the consultation, the person who had the account on their cell phone was not on the premises, it was not possible. “How can something so important depend on just one person?” noted the newspaper.
According to the report, the La Vía Central cafeteria-pizzeria, the Medité center or Casa de las Infusions Médicas and the La Infinita ice cream parlor do not currently accept payment by transfer through any of the digital platforms enabled in the country, such asEnZonaandTransfermobile.
In other places, such as the Coppelia La Arboleda, the UEB La España, the Fraternidad chocolate shop and the Labiofam marketing store, customers can only use EnZona.
Some sites have their own peculiarities. The El Santiaguero market and the Chan-Chan complex only accept payments by Transfermóvil, while the José Antonio Echeverría bookstore has not enabled the extra cash service.
This last service allows people to withdraw cash at commercial establishments located in areas where there are no ATMs.
The official newspaper itself reflected the lack of control that exists in these government facilities, as clients, on many occasions, point out that they are prevented from paying for the EnZona or Transfermóvil platforms “because there were problems that day.”
In contrast, he warnedSierra Maestra, “in non-state restaurants and MSMEs, the situation is more favorable for users, although not in all cases.”
After last AugustThe Cuban regime approved a program for the banking of the country, the daily life of many Santiago residents has become the eternal search for ATMs with cash available that are not out of power, and businesses – state or private – that accept payment through EnZona or Transfermóvil.
About,CyberCuba contacted some people who confirmed that it is quite difficult to find an authorized ATM and cash.
“I go up Garzón, I start at the bank near the Infinita ice cream parlor, I go to the ATMs on the 18 floors, from there I go down Enramadas, I go to all the ones that are on that street, also those that are in Parque Céspedes, and nothing . I make this trip while I go to work and back home, twice a day, and weeks can go by without seeing cash,” explained a woman who preferred to remain anonymous.
A worker at the Guillermón Moncada port said that thanks to a friend he can access cash: “She owns a cafeteria and has a business sending remittances to Cuba and through these activities she collects quite a few bills of all denominations, and it changes me without paying anything extra.”
“Before I went to the state centers, the winery for example, or the Jardín de las Enramadas coppelia, but that is a mafia. In those places the administrators help whoever they want and there is no one to ensure that things are done well. It's relaxing," he said.
A third person, also contacted by our newspaper, said that in March he was only able to access the cash because a friend put him in contact with the director of a bank branch.
“I had a large amount of money in my account that I needed to get out. A friend told me that, with the right incentive, a branch manager could help me. I did so, and he notified me one day that several deposits were made. I went during the time when the blackout was not in effect and I was able to charge. That day I realized that there are regular clients for that ‘service,’” he commented.
Many go to informal channels because they can “match” with a working ATM that is not turned off due to lack of electricity, that also has cash andthe tail is not gigantic, it is almost the plot of a fictional story.
An alternative that some people have found is to exchange on the street, paying 10 percent of the transfer in exchange for cash.
Those interviewed agree that if the government does not solve the problems with the famous banking system until now, the solution is often in the hands of each person.
Without pointing out culprits or going into depth, the newspaperSierra Maestra He points out that there are still many problems to be solved, such as “support for cash withdrawals, the opening and use of tax accounts, the association with digital payment methods; the supervision of all the organizations involved, the requirement of compliance with what is established, the facilitation of the installation of Transfermóvil, which still presents barriers, the training of workers, virtual literacy of certain age groups, having other ways to deal with lack of a cell phone or other technology.”
In a country where not even ATMs have cash, the Cuban regime approved seven months agothe program for the banking of the country which includes a group of measures to encourage the use of electronic collection and payment channels on the island, and also to exercise tight control over cash.
Since then, and still without a solution, the problem of access to banknotes remains, and peopleThey can't even get their salaries easily, neither in ATMs nor in state centers that have enabled the extra cash service.
The Cuban regime, in its desire to control the new “economic actors” (meaning micro, small and medium-sized companies), imposeda “gradual” process of banking, which in the end has been an obstacle to the circulation of money, further intensifying its cash shortage and triggering inflation and the price of the dollar in the informal market.
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