Cuba announces new regulations expanding dollar use and strengthening control over income
The Cuban government announced new regulations for opening dollar accounts without prior authorization, as well as making payments abroad. Some income will remain under the oversight of the state banking system
Cuba is undergoing a change in its financial system. The government announced new regulations that allow the opening of foreign currency accounts without prior authorization, as well as payments abroad, although the local banking system will maintain control over some income.
It was learned that the Cuban government “expanded the foreign currency transactions permitted for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), self-employed workers, and other non-state actors” through Official Gazette No. 76, published on September 10, via Resolutions 102/2026 of the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) and 103/2026 of the Ministry of Economy and Planning. Both provisions replace the regulations approved nine months earlier, in December 2025.
Specifically, Resolution 102 “eliminates the requirement for prior authorization from the BCC to open bank accounts in foreign currency. From these accounts, economic actors will be able to receive income from exports, e-commerce, transfers from abroad, and other authorized sources, as well as make payments abroad and transfers.”
It should be clarified that the resolution does not imply a liberalization of foreign currency transactions.
Furthermore, Resolution 103 establishes that “economic actors without an approved withholding tax rate will retain 80 % of certain foreign currency income, while the remaining 20 % will be credited in national currency at the exchange rate of the segment in which they operate.”
In what cases does this scheme apply? It applies to income from exports, e-commerce, sales to the Mariel Special Development Zone, and certain wholesale transactions.
Private businesses will also be authorized to accept cash in foreign currency and must deposit it into their tax accounts. Retail payments will continue to be made in Cuban pesos, “except for foreign currency transactions expressly authorized by the Government.”
Payments abroad will be permitted for the import of goods and services, financing, and other expenses related to economic activity.
The government clarified that foreign currency withdrawals will be subject to availability and the commercial policies of Cuban banks.
M.Pino
Source: cubanet.org
(Reference image source: Igal Ness on Unsplash)
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