Search results for: bancarización

‘Bancarizacion’ – Banking Reform – Has Not Reached the Level Desired by the Cuban Regime

14ymedio, Madrid, April 8, 2024 — ‘Bancarización’* — banking reform — is stagnating in Cuba despite the many hours spent promoting it in the official media. Last year, 30% of banking operations were carried out in cash, despite the fact that only 77% of the 800 ATMs on the Island dispense it, according to data … Continue reading “‘Bancarizacion’ – Banking Reform – Has Not Reached the Level Desired by the Cuban Regime”

Steps Towards the Disaster of Cuba’s ‘Bancarizacion’ [Banking Reform]

14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, November 25, 2023 — Bancarización* (banking reform) in Cuba is becoming a one-act comedy for those who are bored with the low quality of the script and the cast that participates. Almost half a year after the approval of Resolution 111 of the Central Bank of Cuba, the conclusion that … Continue reading “Steps Towards the Disaster of Cuba’s ‘Bancarizacion’ [Banking Reform]”

Experts Close to the Government Point Out Cuba’s Lack of Preparation for the ‘Bancarización’ Banking Reform Process

14ymedio, Havana, August 24, 2023 — The Cuban Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero, attacked micro, medium and small companies (SMEs) and other private businesses that “resist” the priority use of electronic payment channels. The measure, which represents the core of the country’s  bancarización* banking reform process decreed at the beginning of August, has been criticized by … Continue reading “Experts Close to the Government Point Out Cuba’s Lack of Preparation for the ‘Bancarización’ Banking Reform Process”

The Cuban Government Closes 45 Businesses for Not Implementing Electronic Payment and Targets Another 893

14ymedio, Havana, 15 March 2024 — This Thursday, the Communist Party newspaper published a list of 45 businesses (60% of them from the private sector) whose closure was decreed by the Government for not including the electronic method among its means of payment. The measure, announced in large headlines by the official press, sends a … Continue reading “The Cuban Government Closes 45 Businesses for Not Implementing Electronic Payment and Targets Another 893”

‘The Problem Is Not the Ministers, It Is a Failed Model’ Summarizes a Cuban Economist

14ymedio, Havana, 3 February 2024 — The discreet headline about the dismissal of three Cuban ministers that remained on the front page of Granma since yesterday has been overshadowed, this Saturday, by a triumphant photo of Prime Minister Manuel Marrero and the announcement of a “complex meteorological situation for Sunday and Monday.” But while the official … Continue reading “‘The Problem Is Not the Ministers, It Is a Failed Model’ Summarizes a Cuban Economist”

Cuban Parliament Rends Its Garments over State Corruption and the Financial Crisis

14ymedio, Havana, 20 December 2023 — Corruption in grocery stores and soup kitchens, corruption in sports and educational institutions, corruption in the state sector and in small businesses. The numbers do not add up and Cuban officials were unable to avoid the word (it had been taboo among government leaders for decades) during presentations to … Continue reading “Cuban Parliament Rends Its Garments over State Corruption and the Financial Crisis”

Private Businesses in Cuban Increasingly Distrust the Country’s Banking Reform

14ymedio, Havana, November 24, 2023 — The balance sheet for bancarización* (banking reform) four months after its implementation, is not optimistic: The micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are increasingly suspicious of electronic payment methods and continue to “retain cash.” The shortage of banknotes is still at its peak, and the Island’s banks are suffering … Continue reading “Private Businesses in Cuban Increasingly Distrust the Country’s Banking Reform”

Cuban Authorities Blame the Failure of Banking Reform on Hard Currency Sellers

14ymedio, Havana, 27 October 2023 —  After turning a blind eye for decades to street currency sellers, the authorities have decided that this activity “hinders” the bancarización* [banking reform] decreed by the Government last August. On Friday, the official press reported a police raid in Sancti Spíritus against an “illegal cadeca” (exchange house run by individuals). Those … Continue reading “Cuban Authorities Blame the Failure of Banking Reform on Hard Currency Sellers”

Agromarkets Give a Blow to the Cuban Regime’s Banking Reform

14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, October 6, 2023 — There is more news about bancarización.* The state press analyzes the relationship between agromarkets and electronic payments and describes it as “a union that is not yet consolidated.” It’s a good example that bancarización as a hierarchical order issued by the regime, mandatory for all, is … Continue reading “Agromarkets Give a Blow to the Cuban Regime’s Banking Reform”

Without a Bank and an Internet Connection, the Cuban ‘Guajiro’ Wants To Have Cash in Hand

14ymedio, Havana, 14 October 2023 — The official press warned this Saturday that the bancarización* banking reform process in Pinar del Río has found its nemesis: the Cuban guajiro. “They have no culture of that,” complained the authorities, who insist that the farmers – particularly those dedicated to tobacco cultivation – are impervious to the … Continue reading “Without a Bank and an Internet Connection, the Cuban ‘Guajiro’ Wants To Have Cash in Hand”

August Rumors: Banking Rules Killing Small Businesses plus Mariela Castro, a Porsche and Crooked Cops

14ymedio/Yucabyte, Havana, September 22, 2023 — What’s driving the Cuban government to adopt new banking measures in the midst of a nationwide cash shortage? Which restaurants in Havana are being secretly managed by the children and grandchildren of senior Armed Forces’s officials? What event will get so out of control that the island’s frustrated inhabitants … Continue reading “August Rumors: Banking Rules Killing Small Businesses plus Mariela Castro, a Porsche and Crooked Cops”

Indications Are the New Banking Reform Measures Are Failing but Cuban Officials Still See Them as Necessary

14ymedio, Madrid, 20 September 2023 — It has been a month and a half since a series of measures referred to as bancarización took effect and opinion on the street remains unchanged. This government effort is intended to encourage businesspeople and consumers to use electronic payment options rather than cash. “I don’t understand how it … Continue reading “Indications Are the New Banking Reform Measures Are Failing but Cuban Officials Still See Them as Necessary”

Cuban Government Taps Experts in an Effort to Halt Peso’s Downward Plunge

14ymedio, Madrid, September 12, 2023 — Faced with the peso’s seemingly unstoppable free fall, the Cuban government is mobilizing its own economists by soliciting proposals from them. One such proposal, submitted by Joel Ernesto Marill Domenech, was published this week in Cubadebate. In a series of two articles, the official from the Ministry of Economy … Continue reading “Cuban Government Taps Experts in an Effort to Halt Peso’s Downward Plunge”

The Price of US Chicken Rises, Imports to Cuba Fall

14ymedio, Madrid, 8 September 2023 — The price of a kilo of chicken that Cuba imports from the United States continues to rise and stood at $1.23 USD in July, 3.4% more than the previous month ($1.19) and 38% more than in May, when it barely cost $0.89. In this context, imports were reduced compared … Continue reading “The Price of US Chicken Rises, Imports to Cuba Fall”

The Business of Communist-Sponsored Street Fairs

14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, 11 September 2023 — Cuba’s communist regime seems hell-bent on phasing out the use of cash and replacing it with electronic payment platforms, specifically Transfermóvil and Enzona. To these ends, it organized a “trade fair,” a kind of Saturday street market along Galiano Street in Central Havana, where all transactions … Continue reading “The Business of Communist-Sponsored Street Fairs”