What’s Going On with My Dollars in Cuba
HAVANA TIMES – I don’t recommend that anyone keep their dollars in a Cuban bank. And believe me, I have my reasons. My whole life, ever since I started working, I kept my money in banks. I had an account in the national currency; and when CUCs were introduced, I opened an account in that currency. But I was very upset when they converted everything to Cuban pesos and returned it to me in that currency. So I decided to close my peso account.
I’ve had my MLC (the magnetic currency) card for years. I also had a dollar account that I kept—until I decided to close it.
So, I requested my cash in dollars. My branch of the Banco Metropolitano, is located in the Sierra Maestra building belonging to CIMEX, part of the military conglomerate
GAESA. First, I sat at the desk where operations are done—getting cards, opening or closing accounts, and other services.
The employee told me that the account was frozen because I hadn’t made any deposits for a long time. I explained that I just wanted to close it and get the cash. She said I had to submit a written request to the bank’s management with my personal details. They would call me, she said. But the wait would be long because there was a huge backlog of requests.
Two months passed and no one called. I got tired of waiting and went to speak to the director in person. Of course, directors are never around. A supervisor told me the bank didn’t have availability of funds. That word stunned me: the bank didn’t have dollars? The very same bank that held my money and used it for its financial transactions couldn’t give it back to me. This was unprecedented.
She advised me to go to the central bank in Old Havana. So off I went. After standing in a long line, they sent me to another place. In that office, they gave me a form to fill out—my name, account number, branch, and the reason I urgently needed the cash.
The stupidity floored me. What kind of mind thinks it makes sense to explain what the hell I’m going to do with my own money? It was absurd and utterly disrespectful.
Finally, they sent me to a branch in Playa, quite far from my house, by the way. They started the paperwork, and just as they were about to finish, the power went out. This meant they couldn’t give me the money because blackouts last more than five hours, and employees leave before three in the afternoon.
Thanks to a kind supervisor who took down my phone number to let me know the next day whether or not there would be electricity, I was able to resolve the problem. A neighbor drove me there, and I finally got my money.
I was so happy to have it that I almost couldn’t believe it. Now a friend of mine is going through the same thing. Poor guy.
I think the best way to keep money is in a buried jar, like the campesinos do. Underground, it’s better protected. In my case, under a floor tile. Though really, anywhere is better—anywhere but a bank.
Read more from the diary of Irina Pino here on Havana Times.