A self-employed worker residing in Camagüey alerted this week that financial inspectors, accompanied by police and banking personnel, are arriving at private businesses in the city to conduct cash audits and immediately convert all available cash into bank transfers, leaving establishments without immediate liquidity.
The report was made by the content creator known as "Katia, a Cuban like any other" in an Instagram reel posted on Tuesday, which accumulated over 110,000 views in just a few hours.
"New fear unlocked, gentlemen. Now, the TCP, the self-employed workers, are at the mercy of the finance inspectors arriving at any moment with the police at the business and taking all the cash we have there at that moment. Everything," he warned.
In response to the avalanche of reactions and questions from her followers, Katia posted a second clarifying video on Wednesday that already has over 26,000 views, to explain the mechanism in greater detail.
"I live in Camagüey. This is happening in my city and the municipalities," the self-employed worker emphasized, noting that the phenomenon is not limited to the urban area.
According to their account, the novelty is not the visit from inspectors—an established practice for forever—but that now they arrive with bank employees to execute the conversion of cash to transfer at the very moment of the inspection.
"The inspectors arrive with the police and the financial inspector. What happens? They do a cash count, all the cash you have at that moment is transferred to the bank, and they take the cash away," he described.
Katia clarified that the money does not disappear: it is recorded as a transfer in the business's account. However, she noted that this does not resolve the operational issue.
"Everyone knows, or at least all the self-employed do, we are clear about it, that with that money we can't do absolutely anything," he stated.
The Cuban digital banking system has structural flaws that make those funds virtually inoperable. The Central Bank of Cuba limits cash withdrawals to 5,000 pesos per transaction, imposes fees of up to 10%, and connectivity is poor in much of the country.
According to data from 2026, only 3.77% of transactions in Cuba are conducted through electronic channels, and in provinces like Sancti Spíritus, less than 10% of private businesses accept transfers.
This practice is part of the process of forced banking that the regime has promoted since 2023, with particular intensity following Resolution 225/2024 from the Ministry of Finance and Prices, which requires tax bank accounts for all self-employed workers.
In August 2025, the National Office of Tax Administration launched a crusade against businesses evading the use of the tax bank account, categorizing the refusal to accept digital payments as a tax evasion offense.
The situation worsened even further starting from June 6, 2026, when Visa and Mastercard ceased operations in Cuba, further limiting the digital payment options available for businesses and consumers.
In September 2024, the regime closed 58 businesses and imposed 384 fines totaling over one million pesos across several provinces, including Camagüey, for failing to comply with electronic payment regulations.
For self-employed individuals, the situation presents a no-win scenario. The government forces them to operate with transfers under the threat of fines and shutdowns, yet the very banking system it mandates does not allow them to maintain their daily business operations.
To make matters worse, most of the products they sell or the raw materials needed to make them have to be purchased from stores that do not accept transfers in the national currency.
This regime policy puts the self-employed workers of Camagüey between a rock and a hard place once again.
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