Cubans cannot use their Freely Convertible Currency (MLC) cards to buy fuel at the new service centers. We explain everything regarding the new controversy in Cuba.
After the entry into force of the new fuel prices in Cuba and the news regarding the means of payment with which they can be purchased, many Cubans have questioned why they cannot use Freely Convertible Currency cards from Cuban banks.
As has been announced, the forms of payment accepted for the purchase of fuel in dollars at the 29 service centers in Cuba include:
- VISA and Mastercard cards (not issued by US banks)
- MIR cards
- Prepaid cards issued by BANDEC (available for visitors in the CADECA office network, airports, hotels and ports, purchasing them in currency).
- AIS, Traveler and Classic Cards
So it clarified the customer service of the Cimex corporation last January to a user who was interested in the possibility of purchasing fuel with his MLC card.
More recently, the state media Cubadebate received many comments on the same topic.
“Why is the MLC card, which is enabled with currencies, be it dollars, euros, Canadian dollars, etc., not useful for purchasing fuel? In my opinion it is the absurdity of absurdities, if it is not intended to capture fresh currency,” Berto wrote.
CONTROVERSY WITH MLC CARDS IN CUBA
“With this measure of leaving out payment with MLC cards, what will happen is that the MLC cards will be devalued and the USD will go up,” said Yosué.
But, in the absence of official explanations, Cubans themselves offered their assessments of what may have happened.
“Simple friend, the money they have put on those cards no longer exists because they have used it, and what there is is a card in MLC supposedly with money, but without a fund,” said one user.
“I speculate that CIMEX and its entities abuse, there is no other way to say it, the monopoly they hold in the service system in convertible currency, to the detriment of other national entities, as if these were foreign and were not part of our economic system. and financial,” someone else said.
Along the same lines, one person expressed: “the card currencies in MLC no longer exist, they are virtual and you can only buy in the stores in MLC. That’s why you have to get another card that has the currencies (USD, euro, or whatever) but that are fresh, brand new.”
As can be seen, the impossibility of using MLC cards to buy fuel has generated controversy in Cuba. Some users speculate that the currencies on these cards have no real backing, while others believe that it is a strategy to capture fresh currencies. So far, there are no official explanations for this measure.
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