"No transfers accepted": Banking efforts fail in Matanzas amid traps and businesses that evade regulation

It was the weekend, and a woman, accompanying a patient, waited for hours outside the operating room of a provincial hospital in Matanzas. When the need to eat became urgent, she found that doing so would not be easy: no nearby establishment accepted payments by transfer or online, only cash.

The case, reported by the official newspaper Girón, highlights one of the many cracks in banking in Cuba: a policy promoted by the Government to encourage digital payments and reduce cash usage, but which, in practice, encounters technical, economic, and cultural obstacles.

Far from the official numbers, which show an increase in the issuance of magnetic cards and transactions through electronic channels, many users feel that banking is not progressing. Or worse: it is regressing.

As the state newspaper admitted, and in the words of people on social media, it is "turned upside down."

Businesses that cite connection problems, non-functional QR codes, unjustified surcharges, or outright refusal to accept electronic payments are part of everyday life.

Some businesses, according to the provincial director of Bandec, Yanetsy Chávez Camaraza, even provide the personal card number of an employee instead of using the institutional channel, which prevents the customer from benefiting from discounts and bonuses.

In a commercial context, which the regime has been unable to control, customers receive responses such as "we're not accepting transfers today," "we've already exceeded the number for the day," or "after noon we don't use QR."

In many cases, they cite connectivity issues to justify only accepting cash, even though applications like Transfermóvil do not rely on mobile data to function.

For some self-employed workers, such as an agricultural products seller in Matanzas, digital payment is seen as a hindrance: slow, unreliable, and bothersome for customers.

This technological distrust is compounded by the fact that many economic actors, whether state or private, struggle to access their money promptly, which leads them to prefer cash and operate outside of fiscal control, and in this case the blame falls squarely on the government and its banking system.

According to data from Bandec, between January and March 2025, over 31,000 magnetic cards and more than 6,700 Multibanca cards have been issued in the province, with over three million electronic transactions totaling more than 8.1 billion pesos.

However, the bank itself acknowledges that more than 19,000 clients are still unbanked. The most underserved sectors are agriculture and self-employed workers.

Although there are provincial and municipal working groups to promote banking inclusion —with the participation of Bandec, BPA, ONAT, and other entities— the control mechanisms are not effective. Inspections are limited, and when they conclude, the same businesses resume operations outside the regulations.

From the ONAT, its provincial director warns that starting April 15, businesses that do not have active tax accounts could be shut down.

It is ensured that data has already been cross-referenced between bank income and tax declarations, and that actions are scheduled to detect evasion.

Despite the regime's "efforts," the reality is that complaints persist. Users report businesses with QR codes only for show, others that accept transfers only at their convenience or impose illegal surcharges.

Some citizens, like Marilyn, criticize that the enforcement of this policy falls exclusively on public reporting: “It is not the people's responsibility to ensure that the law is not violated,” she told the aforementioned outlet, highlighting the regime's failure in imposing the banking mandate.

Other structural factors also conspire against the success of banking services: there are areas without coverage where it is not possible to use digital platforms, and in those cases, cash payments remain the only real option.

Both the Party and the provincial Government acknowledge that the results are not as expected and are calling for strengthened oversight, which has previously been implemented as a coercive measure.

There has even been a call for the CDR to participate in monitoring businesses in neighborhoods where cafes that do not accept electronic payments or charge inflated prices are prevalent.

The consensus among authorities, banks, and citizens seems clear: without a real commitment from all parties—from institutions to clients—bancarization in Cuba will remain caught between good intentions and a reality that contradicts them daily.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Banking Crisis in Cuba