Fincimex S.A. announced this Wednesday that it has suspended operations with Visa and Mastercard cards in Cuba since 2:00 PM today, moving the date forward by two days from the previously scheduled June 6.
The Cuban financial entity explained that the decision was made to prevent additional losses because transactions through POS terminals require 72 hours for settlement from abroad, which meant that any transaction made today would complete its process after the contract termination date with the foreign processing bank.
"Normally, transactions made with these types of cards via POS require 72 hours for settlement from abroad, which means that financial operations carried out today would conclude their process after the termination date of the agreements signed with the foreign bank, resulting in financial losses for Cuba," stated Fincimex in its statement.
The trigger was the notification received last Tuesday from an unidentified foreign bank, responsible for processing transactions with both payment networks on the island, which announced the termination of its commercial relationship effective June 6.
That decision is directly related to the Executive Order No. 14404 signed by Donald Trump on May 1, 2026, which expanded sanctions against Cuba and introduced secondary penalties for foreign financial institutions linked to blocked entities, especially GAESA and its subsidiaries.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) set June 5 as the deadline for foreign companies and financial institutions to cease their operations with the Cuban military conglomerate.
Fincimex, linked to the CIMEX Group and GAESA, described the measure as a consequence of "the illegitimate actions of the U.S. government," which disrupt "a commercial operation that for 32 years allowed the operation of Visa and Mastercard in Cuba in accordance with international standards."
With this interruption, Cuba is unable to receive income from the commercialization of goods and services through both international payment networks.
The blow comes at a particularly critical moment for Cuban tourism. Hotel chains Meliá and Iberostar had already announced the cessation of operations at dozens of hotels in the days leading up to this, while between January and April 2026, the island received only 328,608 international visitors, a drop of 55.8% compared to the same period in 2025.
As alternative payment methods in foreign currency, cash, the national prepaid cards Clásica and Tropical, and the international cards Mir and UnionPay remain operational.
It's not the first time that Fincimex has suffered a blow of this magnitude. In October 2020, the Trump administration included it on the OFAC's list of restricted entities, which forced Western Union to suspend remittances to Cuba starting on November 27 of that year, leading to the closure of 407 branches on the island. Western Union did not resume operations until May 2023.
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