Deposit of dollars in cash: exchange rate, extraction and other questions › Cuba › Granma

The Central Bank of Cuba delved into details related to the acceptance of bank deposits of dollars in cashsomething possible from April 10 of this year.

Among other elements, the financial institution explains that it is possible to deposit US dollars in cash on the MLC cards used to buy in stores. They clarified, in this regard, that the MLC (Freely Convertible Currency) is a denomination to identify foreign currencies that are accepted by Cuban banks.

They also explained that the Freely Convertible Currency. (MLC) is a denomination to identify the currencies that are accepted by Cuban banks, it is not a currency. The so-called MLC accounts are opened in US dollars (USD), therefore the amount deposited in USD is recognized as the account balance.

When US dollars are deposited in these accounts, no currency exchange operation is carried out, and therefore no exchange rate is applied. If you are depositing $100 in cash, your account is credited with $100.

Cards are a payment instrument linked to the bank account, and can be used to make payments up to the available balance.

Regarding the extraction after having deposited cash in dollars in the banks, they add that it is possible. However, if the requested foreign currency is not available, the bank takes the data from the request and notifies the customer as soon as the requested amount is available. Alternatively, you can extract another of the currencies that operate in the country.

If a person is sent money from abroad, they can collect it in cash, as is done today.

In the case of prepaid cards designed for use by tourists, they continue to operate, but their acquisition may also be with USD in cash.

Regarding the official exchange rate, they specified that it remains at current levels.

In the event that cash is needed to travel abroad, the Central Bank of Cuba indicates that cash can be withdrawn from foreign currency accounts in the currencies that are accepted in the country. Up to USD 5,000.00 is established for the exit of the country from the country, or its equivalent in other currencies, which does not require a declaration from the traveler. From that amount, authorization from the BCC must be requested.

If the requested currency is not available, the previously explained works.

When asked if, when the banks recover dollars in cash from the population, they will be able to support the Certificates of Deposits, the BCC answers that the conditions regarding the Certificates of Deposits in foreign currency are maintained. Until now, only its total or partial extraction is allowed in CUP at the rate of 1×120.

Finally, they added that the causes that led to the non-acceptance of USD cash deposits in 2021 are still present.
For Cuba it is extremely complex to deposit foreign currencies abroad. The limitations to extract or sell currencies were given because the demands of USD for withdrawals from bank accounts and purchases with pesos, were higher than the cash stocks in USD, which, by not entering the banks, began to decrease.

With the implementation of the exchange market in August 2022, this situation improved but did not meet demand. In cases where the USD is insufficient, the banks offer other available foreign currencies, but there are people who want the USD and are waiting for availability. By allowing the deposit of USD, this situation should improve.