The first private currency exchange in Cuba has been operating since September 14 in Santa Clara, offering rates higher than those of the informal market. The selling price of the dollar at that location on Tuesday was 730 Cuban pesos (CUP), 30 pesos above the value in the informal market today.
The independent media elTOQUE shared an image with the exchange rates on September 15, at Aires de Tristá 64 (ADT 64). The establishment is located at number 64 on the Central Highway between Tristá and Padre Chao, just 500 meters from the official CADECA in the city.
What stands out the most is the profile of the private Cuban business that operates as a currency exchange. According to databases of companies consulted by elTOQUE, the registered business objective of ADT 64 is gastronomy. It is supposed to sell ice cream, pizza, and hamburgers, products that have no connection to the buying and selling of foreign currency.
The statement from the Cuban regime
On Wednesday, news was reported about the first private currency exchange house in Cuba and its significance in the country's economy, as the operations it conducts are providing data to the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) to support the official exchange rate of Segment III, primarily aimed at individuals and non-state economic actors.
Exchange Rate Evolution
The regime did not disclose the name of the company, nor details about its owners, address, hours of operation, currencies handled, or limits per transaction when it announced the opening.
Ian Pedro Carbonell Karell, director of the payment system at the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC), confirmed in the Round Table that the entity was already operational as part of a pilot program, describing its transactions as "real, settled, and confirmed exchange operations" that serve to "better underpin" the official rate.
What prices did the first private exchange house in Cuba open with?
The digital screen in the establishment displayed on September 15 exchange rates for nine currencies: the dollar was bought at 710 CUP and sold at 730; the euro at 815 and 839 respectively; the British pound at 852 and 876; and the Swiss franc at 866 and 891.
Those values exceeded both the Informal Market Reference Rate and the official Segment III of the BCC, which that day was around 655 CUP per dollar.
However, citizens who visited the establishment confirmed that, for the time being, ADT 64 only buys foreign currency and does not sell it, despite what is indicated on the screen.
The investigation by elTOQUE identified that the phone number associated with ADT 64 belongs to Arnel Matos Freire, who has a registered address matching that of the company, although he did not respond to the media's inquiries. The business administrator, according to a report from the CMHW station in 2023, is Richard Arce Maturana.
ADT 64 has a history of operating outside its registered corporate purpose. In January 2025, it was promoting wholesale sales of imported products; in February 2026, the Inspection Directorate of Villa Clara imposed a fine of 70,000 CUP for personal account charges, in application of Decree Law 91; and in August 2026, it opened a gas station.
The opening of this private business is part of the package of 176 economic measures approved in June 2026 by the National Assembly, which also includes private banking, private remittance operators, and a real-time digital currency market.
The Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz announced in July before Parliament that the first private currency exchange was "ready to begin its operations as a pilot project," without providing any details about the beneficiary entity, which raised suspicions about possible links to officials or their associates.
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