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The Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) announced a pilot program to pay retirees and pensioners in shopping centers in four municipalities of Havana, as a measure to relieve the congestion at bank branches overwhelmed by cash demand.
The news was announced at a press conference by Alberto Javier Quiñones Betancourt, vice president of the BCC, who specified that the experiment will be coordinated with the governments of Old Havana, Playa, Plaza de la Revolución, and La Lisa, where the organizational conditions of the new scheme will be defined.
"Today, around 90% of the number of people visiting the branches are doing so to withdraw cash, and one way to reduce such a high influx for this sole purpose is by increasing cash payments," explained the official.
The problem extends across the entire country. At the branches in Matanzas reported four consecutive days without service, illustrating the extent of the banking collapse on the island.
At the same time, the BCC is working to bring cash salary payments to workplaces with a high concentration of workers, prioritizing health institutions and other vital sectors.
However, retirees and pensioners are one of the most affected groups by the crisis, facing long lines and cash shortages on a daily basis.
The context also includes the recent issuance of the new 2,000 and 5,000 Cuban peso bills, a measure that sparked ironic reactions among the population, with many noting that now my salary fits in a bill.
Quiñones Betancourt also admitted that "digital payment has not been successfully accepted or processed effectively in businesses."
Critics have described the pilot plan as a superficial measure that does not address the structural causes of the crisis, while the situation in other provinces has already reached the point where the police had to be deployed in Cienfuegos to manage the queues outside the banks.
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