The president Miguel Díaz-Canel admitted this Wednesday that the banking policy promoted by his government since 2023 cannot be imposed on the entire population, as there are individuals who lack the necessary means to use electronic payment channels.
The statement was made during the second broadcast of his radio program "Criterio Compartido", aired from the studios of Radio Rebelde alongside journalist Bárbara Betancourt.
The leader directly linked the difficulties of banking access to the electrical crisis affecting the island. In response, he announced a project to install photovoltaic panels at all bank branches across the country, aiming to ensure that a power outage does not also lead to a collapse of financial services. "We are currently working on a project to equip all bank branches with photovoltaic systems, so we will guarantee that there is no banking blackout during a power cut," he stated in this regard.
Despite the recognition, Díaz-Canel defended the continuity of the policy by arguing that it provides traceability and transparency to economic operations. However, this admission contrasts with years of government insistence on expanding banking services and the sanctions imposed to enforce compliance. By September 2025, state inspections throughout the country had detected 26,538 deficiencies, imposed 15,240 fines, and ordered the closure of 269 establishments, although the irregularities found were not limited to non-compliance with electronic payments.
The available data illustrate the operational failure of the policy. In the city of Sancti Spíritus, a survey conducted in May 2026 revealed that less than 10% of private businesses regularly accepted transfers, and over half of the ATMs in Havana were out of service or out of cash in May 2026.
In the informal market, the distortion has reached an extreme: intermediaries were only delivering 600 pesos in cash for every 1,000 pesos transferred, a 40% commission that reflects the desperation of those who need physical cash to operate.
During the program, issues affecting vulnerable individuals were also discussed, including the elderly, retirees, and people with disabilities. In this context, Díaz-Canel acknowledged the shortage of medications in Cuba, attributing it to the lack of foreign currency and the U.S. embargo, and recognized the existence of an illegal drug market. The Cuban basic medical kit includes 651 medications, of which 250 are imported and 401 are of domestic production.
The president also took the opportunity to provide an update on the follow-up to the first airing of the program, held on September 23, 2026. Of the 24 calls received at that time, "sixteen people were visited," he reported, while two participants were still waiting for a visit. "Of the calls, eight were complaints. Of those, five were valid, and three were partly valid," he detailed.
Regarding inflation, Díaz-Canel reiterated his stance that price control is not the solution: "I continue to insist that the issue of prices is not solved simply by capping prices," to which the host responded with a phrase that summarizes the structural problem: "What is needed is production."
In June 2026, the government announced a reform to open the banking system to private and foreign institutions, introducing new credit mechanisms and payment services with state, cooperative, and private participation, indicating that the current model is acknowledged as insufficient even within the ranks of the regime itself.
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