The new regulation eliminates prior authorization to open accounts abroad and relaxes financial operations with foreign countries.
14ymedio, Havana, September 10, 2026 – The Cuban Government took a new step toward dollarizing the economy this Thursday by authorizing private actors to accept payments in foreign currency in cash and deposit them directly into their bank accounts. The measure is part of a new package of regulations that, barely nine months after the rules approved in December 2025, eliminates several restrictions on operating with foreign currency.
Official Gazette number 76, published this Thursday, includes two resolutions, one from the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) and another from the Ministry of Economy and Planning, intended to regulate foreign-currency bank accounts and the system for managing, controlling and allocating foreign currency in the economy. Both replace provisions adopted at the end of last year.
One of the main changes directly affects micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (mipymes), cooperatives, agricultural producers, artists, creators and other non-state economic actors. From now on, their foreign-currency accounts may receive cash deposits from lawful income generated by their own economic activity.
The new rules also allow private actors to withdraw cash in foreign currency from their accounts, although the possibility will be conditioned on the “availability and commercial policy of the banks”
Resolution 103 goes even further and establishes that non-state actors may accept payments in foreign currency in cash “at the customer’s decision”. That money may be deposited into foreign-currency tax accounts or converted into Cuban pesos at the exchange rate in effect in the corresponding segment.
The amendment expands, in practice, the spaces in which the dollar and other foreign currencies can legally circulate within the private economy, even when the establishment does not formally operate as a retail business authorized to sell exclusively in foreign currency.
The new rules also allow private actors to withdraw cash in foreign currency from their accounts, although the possibility will be conditioned on the “availability and commercial policy of the banks”. In this way, the right to withdraw dollars, euros or other currencies will ultimately depend on whether the financial institution physically has them available.
Another significant new feature is the elimination of prior authorization from the Central Bank to open foreign-currency accounts. Resolution 102 establishes that individuals and legal entities may do so directly at banks without first obtaining the institution’s approval.
Resolution 103 establishes that economic actors subject to the regulation may open them both in Cuba and abroad without prior authorization
The Government is also relaxing international operations. Non-state actors may use their accounts to make payments abroad for imports of goods and services, financing and other lawful purposes linked to their economic activity.
The new wording does not expressly mention the obligation to make those payments through authorized importing companies, although it does not by itself represent a complete liberalization of imports, since it requires that the operations comply with the rest of the legislation in force.
Even more significant is the possibility of maintaining accounts abroad. Resolution 103 establishes that economic actors subject to the regulation may open them both in Cuba and outside the country without prior authorization. In the case of foreign accounts, they will only have to notify the Central Bank and the National Office of Tax Administration.
The possibility of operating accounts abroad also raises a question about the means of payment that private businesses will be able to use. Since June, Visa and Mastercard cards have stopped working in Cuba after the foreign bank that processed those operations broke off relations with Fincimex, the financial company linked to the military conglomerate Gaesa. The new regulation could make it easier for a private company to seek international payment-processing services directly linked to an account abroad, without necessarily going through the Cuban banking system.
Having an account outside the Island does not turn a Cuban establishment into a foreign business for Visa or Mastercard purposes
However, having an account outside the Island does not turn a Cuban establishment into a foreign business for Visa or Mastercard purposes. Both networks take into consideration the location where the business actually operates and, in face-to-face transactions, the country where the payment is made. Therefore, the new regulation does not by itself imply the return of those cards to Cuban terminals.
The possibility also remains for professionals who export services through state entities to receive foreign currency directly into their accounts, in accordance with what is stipulated in their contracts.
The paradox is once again written into the legislation itself. While the authorities insist on restoring the Cuban peso as the center of the monetary system, the new rules expand the businesses, accounts and operations in which it is possible to do without it.
Translated by Regina Anavy
______________________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.