Banco Metropolitano has a unique presence in Havana. (Photo: Cuban newspaper)
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What to do with the accounts in Cuban convertible pesos (CUC) when January 1, 2021 arrives, a date marked as Day Zero of the “monetary order”? That is the question many Cubans ask themselves the day after the advertisement offered by Miguel Díaz-Canel.
According to the Extraordinary Official Gazette number 73 published this Thursday, the Central Bank of Cuba clarifies that Cubans who have these accounts in CUC can convert them to Cuban pesos (CUP) at the exchange rate of 24 CUP x 1 CUC, or to international currencies such as the United States dollar (USD) or the euro.
The change to euros or USD requires the account holder to go to the bank within 180 days after January 1 or else the account will be converted to CUP automatically and in the method and term originally contracted. , and “earn interest in this currency at the corresponding rate.”
To encourage Cubans to leave their savings in CUP, the bank will give a bonus of between 1.5% and 3.5%, depending on the term.
But there is another danger when converting accounts to USD or euros: they cannot be traded in those currencies. “The holder of the certificate of deposit in US dollars or euros, once constituted, cannot increase its balance, extract cash in these currencies, or transfer them to other banking products in foreign currency; when the conditions of the country allow availability of currency to support these certificates, their conditions may be modified ”.
In case of wanting to extract them in the future, before it is backed with liquidity, “the title is canceled and the extraction is carried out in CUP for the principal amount plus the corresponding interest, at the exchange rate of the day on which the operation”.
No one is exonerated from the conversion to CUP of bank accounts, until the balance of bank accounts in CUC of collaborators abroad to which the 30% discount was applied for purchases in commercial establishments, will go from automatically forms CUP at the exchange rate of 24 CUP x 1 CUC, maintaining its current operations.
“Its holders can request, from the account in Cuban pesos, within the aforementioned period of 180 days, to convert totally or partially the balance they had at the time of decreeing the monetary and exchange unification, to US dollars or euros, availing themselves of the certificate of described deposit ”.
Another necessary clarification consists of the interest generated at the time of intervening the account. According to the resolution, “the account holders who, during the established period, present themselves at the banks to change them to Cuban pesos, are only entitled to accrued interest, as long as the rest of the conditions agreed in the initial contract are maintained” .
On the other hand, it is reported that ATMs will only dispense CUP, regardless of the currency in which the account to which the card is associated is denominated. In addition, the magnetic cards associated with accounts in convertible pesos remain valid until the issuing bank decides, and operations are carried out in Cuban pesos.
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