Money in Cuba

Money

MONEY IN CUBA

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The information stated in the current article was last updated on the 16th of July 2021. There is now only one currency in Cuba – Peso Cubano /CUP/. The Convertible Peso /CUC/ was officially outlawed on the 1st of January 2021. The two currencies were into circulation 24 CUP = 1 CUC. The deadline to exchange your CUCs was until the end of June 2021.

There are two currencies is Cuba: Convertible Peso /CUC/ and Peso Cubano. The CUC is intended for the tourists and is provided at the exchange desks /cadecas/. The currency introduced by Castro CUC /Convertible Peso/ aims to displace the USD and EUR as a means of payment on the Island of Freedom, and moreover, successfully. By the way, I advise you to learn the difference between Convertible Peso and Peso Cubano, since the correlation between them is 1:24.

The CUC is the main monetary unit in the whole of Havanа. However, the locals receive their salaries in Peso Cubano. As a tourist, you can acquire Peso Cubano on the market if you buy fruit and vegetables, pay in Peso Convertible and receive your change in Peso Cubano. You can use it for market shopping and in the countryside restaurants, but not in Havanа. You can also use Peso Cubano to buy some pizza or a sandwich from the local food shops. Therefore, if you are a tourist and you are not staying long in Havana, you won’t need any Peso Cubano. Moreover, since 2017 all goods in the state stores are offered in both currencies. So if you have some Peso Cubano you can easily get rid of it by buying for example a bottle of rum.

Money withdrawal.

In Havanа there are quite a few spots where you can withdraw money.

NOTE! Before you depart make sure your bank is not associated with the US. If so it is very probable that you won’t be able to withdraw money in Cuba. It is best to have a card issued by a European bank such as Societe Generalе, Unicredit Bulbank, First Investment Bank and others.

The reason for this obstacle is the trade embargo /ban/ imposed by the US on the citizens and economy of the Caribbean country. Cuba itself, however, gives as good as it gets.

A Visa Card is applicable in Cuba, unlike a Master Card. A tourist of mine once withdrew 300 BGN /150 EUR/ with her Post Bankcard and was charged 28 BGN /16 EUR/ for taxes. On the other hand, another tourist used his Unicredit Bulbank Card to withdraw 200 CUC / 200 USD/ and was charged a tax of only 7 CUC.

How to make difference between the two currencies?

PESO CONVERTIBLE. CUC. The currency is also called cuc, chavito, SeUSe, dollares. There exist 1, 3, 5, 10, 50, and 100 Convertible Peso notes. For using notes of 50 and 100 you will be asked to give your passport number. The currency coins are always silver and exist in 1 /coin/, 5, 10, 25, 50, and 1 CUC.

PESO CUBANO.CUP. MONEDA NACIONAL. The easiest way to distinguish Peso Cubano is the image of a notable Cuban national hero. The Peso Cubano coins are always yellow – 1, 3,10, 20, 50, 100, 500. This is the future currency of Cuba.