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The Banco de Crédito y Comercio (Bandec) at its Matanzas branch has launched a social media campaign to promote its "Vacation Savings Account", a product that promises to help Cubans "build financial security to enjoy their leisure time with peace of mind."
The product requires a minimum deposit of 200 CUP, generates an annual interest of 4 %, has a minimum term of 12 months, is funded by the monthly salary deduction, and is automatically renewed upon maturity.
The campaign slogan: "Your savings today, your memories tomorrow."
The reaction on social media was immediate: the post was widely received as a meme.
"I don't get the message. It's a meme, right?" wrote Eduardo Caña.
«This is the meme of the day,» agreed Jhoan Manuel Moro Valdivia, while Alejandro Antunez declared: «It has to be a meme!»
Ariel Bárbaro Agüero Quintero was more ironic: "I believe this publication is from the 1980s and they are posting it now because there were no social networks back then."
Several users did the calculations that Bandec overlooked. Ramiro Gross Tur detailed: "With an initial deposit of 500 CUP and a 4% discount from a salary of 10,000, which would be 400 x 12 months = 4,800, plus the 500 from the initial deposit = 5,300. Is that how it works? If so, where can you go with 5,300 CUP?"
Cecilia Ugalde Fariñas applied the same reasoning to her retirement: "Let's see, if I save my retirement with a 4% interest rate, I would earn 124.26 pesos a year. How did I not become a millionaire before!"
The average salary in Cuba was 6,930 CUP per month in 2025, equivalent to about 12-13 dollars at the informal exchange rate, with the dollar trading around 550 CUP. The official inflation that year was 14.1%, although independent economists estimated it to be around 70% in 2024.
Bloguero Tanameno summed it up accurately: "I would like to know which worker living on their honest salary can save, once they achieve that, then let them plan for those vacations."
The inability to save is compounded by a lack of trust in the banking system itself. Martha Lydia Delgado warned, "And when you need it, they won't let you take it out." Yasmani Gómez Jiménez pointed out, "And when you go to withdraw money from the bank, how do you do it when they barely give you 1,000 pesos a day?" Osvaldo Turruelles Sobrino was straightforward: "It's a circus, just so they can freeze the accounts later."
That distrust is well-founded. In November 2025, a human wave in front of a bank in Marianao went viral as a symbol of the banking liquidity collapse.
This month, the Banco Metropolitano had to enable a special service with a fee so that customers of BPA and Bandec could withdraw cash.
Amada Romero summarized it in a phrase: "Plan for three days and stop eating for a year."
José Poveda Cruz offered the only defense possible for the campaign: "It's impossible to save with the existing inflation; however, I understand the spokesperson from Bandec; he is doing his job."
Maritza Bárbara Prieto Carmenate closed the debate with three words: "That's a tragicomedy."
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