Western Union Resumes Sending Remittances to Cuba
without explaining why it had suspended the service
Although in a statement WU said the operations “take effect immediately”, at the moment they are only available from Miami and Hialeah
HAVANA TIMES – Western Union’s wiring service from the United States to Cuba is once again possible starting May 9th. In a statement, the financial institution announced that it resumes remittances to the island “effective immediately” in coordination with its counterpart, Orbit S.A.
Although the text claims that transactions can be carried out both at any US office and via the mobile app, a branch in Florida tells 14ymedio that if a transfer is going to be made, it is recommended to do it via the app or specifically from an office in Miami or Hialeah, “to avoid inconvenience, as not all places are accepting them.”
As has been the case since the financial institution resumed operations in January 2023 after a two-year interruption, the transaction limit will be $2,000 and can be directed to a card or an account in the Banco Popular de Ahorro, Banco Metropolitano, or the Banco de Crédito y Comercio (Bandec). Likewise, the service “is limited solely to consumer money transfers,” WU specified in its statement.
“We understand that our service is a crucial connection between those living in the United States and their family living in Cuba,” said Rodrigo García Estebarena, president of WU for North America and Latin America, without explaining the reasons for the suspension of operations at the end of last January.
“We understand that our service is a crucial connection between those living in the United States and their family living in Cuba.”
At the time when the service was suspended two months ago, the government had halted the implementation of new fuel prices due to an alleged “cybersecurity incident.”
Without mentioning that “incident” or even remittances, Banco Metropolitano publicly issued a statement on February 1st, warning that it was experiencing “technical difficulties.” The widespread suspicion of hacking, which according to official sources had affected the Cimex marketing system, a corporation belonging to the military conglomerate Gaesa, increased among Cubans with the dismissal of then-Minister of Economy, Alejandro Gil Fernández.
On February 9th, the director of Communications, Brad Jones, wrote to this newspaper from the Western Union headquarters in Denver (Colorado), stating that the date of April 1st, which had been provided to 14ymedio by employees of two offices in the United States for the resumption of remittances to the island, was not correct.
After apologizing for the confusion, which he attributed to “someone from the customer service department” possibly giving “incorrect information,” the company requested the dissemination of an official statement: “Western Union is experiencing technical difficulties in the processing of our operations, which have caused a temporary suspension of services between the US and Cuba. The company is supporting its counterpart [Cuban financial institution Orbit] to resume services between the two countries as soon as possible.”
In response to subsequent requests from 14ymedio, Jones insisted, without referring to any specific date: “Our services remain suspended due to technical issues with the processing of transactions from the United States to Cuba. We are working with the counterpart to help them resolve these issues as quickly as possible.”
This Thursday, without any prior announcement, the “problems,” never disclosed, have been resolved.