Cuba loses Visa, Mastercard access amid US sanctions

Visa and Mastercard payments in Cuba will be suspended from Saturday after US sanctions led a foreign bank to cut ties with a state-backed financial institution, Cuba’s central bank said on Wednesday, News.Az reports, citing AFP.

Relations between the United States and Cuba have deteriorated as Washington has imposed a series of sanctions on the country, which has also been under a US-imposed energy blockade since January.

The sanctions have particularly targeted Cuba’s military-linked conglomerate and major economic actor GAESA, including measures to freeze its US-based assets and penalize companies that engage with it.

According to the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), companies affected by these restrictions have until Friday to adjust their operations.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Central Bank of Cuba said a foreign bank had decided to sever its relationship with Fincimex S.A., the financial arm of GAESA, citing US sanctions pressure.

“On June 2, we received a communication from the foreign bank that processes transactions carried out in Cuba using Visa and Mastercard, informing us of its decision to terminate its relationship with Fincimex S.A.,” the central bank said.

“As a result of this decision, Cuba is unable to receive income from the sale of goods and services through internationally established cards such as Visa and Mastercard,” the statement added, without naming the foreign bank involved.

The central bank did not identify the institution that severed ties.

The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (Office of Foreign Assets Control) has warned that sanctioned entities may have their assets frozen or face difficulties accessing the international financial system.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev