Best International Bank Accounts & e-Wallets in Havana

Currency in Cuba

CUP · Cuban peso

Regulator in Cuba

Banco Central de Cuba (BCC)(opens in a new tab)

Local accounts in Cuba

Cuba does not use the IBAN scheme: Cuban bank accounts are addressed with a 20-digit bank account number (branch code, account type and client number) assigned by the state bank, and international transfers additionally require the bank's SWIFT/BIC plus correspondent routing, which is heavily constrained.

Payments in Cuba

Cuba remains a largely cash-based, dual-track economy: after the 2021 monetary reform the CUC convertible peso was phased out, but informal exchange between state-set and market CUP rates, and de facto USD pricing in many transactions, remain everyday realities. Domestic payments run through state banks' Transfermóvil app and the state-run ATM/card network (red BANDEC/BankFin), while international transfers are constrained by the US embargo and limited correspondent banking, so diaspora remittances typically move via licensed remittance agencies or informal channels. Honest summary: there is no real-time interbank retail rail comparable to other countries' systems, and card acceptance is limited outside Havana.

Sources: Banco Central de Cuba · Transfermóvil · IBAN registry: countries without IBAN