The system added confusion and also made it easy for unwitting tourists to get scammed into trading their foreign currency for the less-valuable CUP. The old tourist currency was known as the Cuban Convertible Peso, or CUC, and it was worth 25 times as much as the Cuban peso, known as a CUP. That surcharge was eliminated in July 2020 during the pandemic.įor roughly 16 years Cuba worked on a dual-currency system, one for citizens, one for tourists.

Cuba has a 3 percent exchange fee for foreign currencies, but in the past imposed an additional tax on dollars. The new exchange rate will also benefit tourists from the United States, Canada and Europe who will be less likely to trade large quantities of dollars or Euros for Cuban pesos on the street. Tens of thousands of Cuban families who receive remittances in the form of dollars will be beneficiaries of the new rate, although prices in the private commercial sector are likely to adjust upward as the new rate goes into effect last week. When the government was ready to sell dollars, Gil said, there would be limits on quantities individuals could purchase. Speaking on the Cuban state news show, 'Mesa Redonda' (Round Table), the Cuban officials said that the exchange rate would float, and that, for now, the government would only purchase dollars at that rate, but not sell them. “Today there is a high level of foreign currency that is entering the country that is not being captured by the national financial system,” the Economy Minister, Alejandro Gil, said on August 3 during a television appearance with Central Bank President Marta Wilson Gonzalez, according to Reuters. The new rate matches the current black market exchange rate for dollars Cuban officials acknowledged that the government sought to compete with the informal market to obtain much needed foreign currency. The new rate, which will apply to other foreign currencies as well, marks close to a 500 percent increase over the 24 to 1 rate the Cuban government had set during the pandemic. However, if you are planning to visit a small town, be sure to bring the necessary cash with you.Travelers to Cuba will now be able to exchange dollars at hotels, banks and currency exchange centers at an official rate of 120 Cuban pesos to the dollar, Cuban economic authorities announced last week. You can also find ATMs in the main cities of Cuba such as Matanzas, Cienfuegos, Santiago de Cuba, or in tourist complexes such as Varadero and in the Cayos (Islets of Cuba). There are ATMs in almost all banks and major hotels. In Havana city you can find ATMs in many places.

Credit cards issued in the United States are not accepted. The credit cards accepted in Cuba, both to pay for purchased goods and services, and to withdraw money in Cuban pesos at ATMs, are International Master Card and International Visa. The currency exchange service is provided at airports, hotels, banks and exchange houses (CADECA), present throughout the island but ** we strongly advise you to bring Euros or any international currency in cash because the exchange with international cards at the ATMs range from 1 to 24 pesos with the dollar (slightly more with the euro), while with cash the exchange rate is much higher and favorable.Īnother tip: come with cash (to change into Pesos) because private restaurants do not accept credit cards ** You can get it when you arrive in Cuba by exchanging cash for euros, US or Canadian dollars, British pounds or other currencies with international value. The Cuban Peso can only be obtained and used in Cuban territory. Cuban peso banknotes in circulation are 1, 3, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and thousands. Before there was another currency, the CUC (Cuban Convertible Peso) which was first issued in Cuba in 1994 and was valid until June 30, 2021. In Cuba today only the Cuban peso (CUP or MN National Currency) is in circulation.

Cuba exchange rates