Cuba Money

Money

It is best to use the official money exchange venues as counterfeiting and theft is not unknown. They're another type of money in circulation called "moneda nacional." If you do not have Cuban friends it's unlikely a tourist would have occasion to use the non-convertible peso, which is valued at about 20-1 to the CUC. A common scam is paying in chavitos and getting nacional in return. Another common scam is to take a one CUC bank note and add a zero behind the one to make it look like a 10 CUC bank note. The scammer then looks for a tourist to help him (or her) to make change and the tourist gets stuck with the doctored note. ALWAYS make sure that any 10 CUC notes also say Diez on them and not UNO!!! Money There are two currencies circulating in Cuba, Cuban Pesos (CUP) and Cuban Convertible Pesos (CUC). Prior to November 2004 US dollars were in wide circulation on par with the CUC, but the government discontinued that and they are no longer used. CUC is the currency most tourists will use in Cuba. It is how you will pay for hotels, official taxis, entry into museums, meals at restaurants, cigars, rum, etc. Conversion into CUC can be done at exchange houses (casa de cambio, or cadeca). These are located in many hotels and in other places throughout the cities. CUC are valued at 24 times the value of CUP. Tourists are permitted to import or export a maxiumum of CUP 100 or CUC 200 at any one time. CUP are also known as local Pesos and Moneda Nacional (National money). As of May 2006, 1 CUC = 24 CUP. There is a limited range of goods that can be bought for local pesos, and these are transactions carried out in agricultural markets or from street vendors. Fruits, vegetables, fresh juices and snacks from street vendors are among the things CUP can buy. Because the products that can be purchased with CUP are limited, it is not a good idea to change more than CUC 5-10 into CUP at a time, as the CUP will last for a good while. Exchanging currency in Cuba can be complicated. Keep in mind that most of your transactions will take place using CUC. Official exchange rates as published by the national bank of Cuba can be found here: http://www.bc.gov.cu/English/exchange_rate.asp ; But, because that page may not always be operational, exchange rates can be obtained through an exchange calculator such as this one: http://www.xe.com/ucc/full.shtml When changing into CUP, be aware that some exchanges, like those in hotels will not change foreign currencies directly into CUP; instead, they will change your currency into CUC and then change your CUC into CUP. You will lose money on each of the exchanges. There are places on the streets of Havana that will change your foreign currency directly into CUP, but finding one may be difficult as they are not always conveniently located. European and Canadian currency can be exchanged for CUC. Some other currencies may not be exchangable for CUC. US dollars can be exchanged, but a 10% penalty/fee is charged in addition to the regular transaction fee. Traveler's checks drawn on American banks are not technically valid in Cuba, though many have had success cashing U.S. traveler's checks at major tourist hotels. American Express checks are difficult to cash due to the likelihood that they were purchased with U.S. dollars. For example, Swiss traveler's checks will be accepted, as long as they are in Swiss francs, even if the checks are made "in licence" of an American bank, as long as the real producer of them is Non-American. Visa Traveller's cheques are accepted, though the same caveats about being drawn on an American bank apply. It's better to bring cash to Cuba; resorts accept Euros, Canadian dollars, English pounds, Swiss francs and Hong Kong yuan currencies without any fees. If backpacking or leaving the resort areas, exchange your currency to CUCs, as foreign currency is not accepted by many locals. For U.S. dollars, they will charge a penalty of 10%, so it's better to change to Euros, Canadian dollars or Swiss francs before travelling there. Some debit cards can be used, so long as they are not issued from a U.S. bank, and are linked in with either the Mastercard/Cirrus or Visa/Plus interbank system. Unlike some national sytems, only primary accounts (typically chequing) is recognised. Visa & Mastercard credit cards (of non-US origin) can be used, including cash advances, but places which accept Visa as payment are limited. Credit cards are charged in US dollars plus 11.24% (the 8% exchange difference plus a 3% fee). ATMs are rare in Cuba; there are several banks in Havana with attached ATMs, but they are few and far between. If they do accept a particular credit/debit card, the machine may not have sufficient funds for large withdrawals; trying again with a smaller amount is advisable. Banks Banks often close at 3pm, and earlier on the last day of the month. Cadecas (exchange bureaux) may be open longer, especially in hotels. When going to a bank take enough time, because service is usually slow and many people may already be waiting. Foreigners may get preferred treatment in exchange for a small tip. You must bring your passport in case you want to exchange traveller checks or make a credit card cash withdrawal, cash is changed without passport usually. Exchange rates do vary from place to place, and some hotels do give significantly worse exchange rates than the banks.