Cuba implements a new mechanism for managing and allocating foreign currency to regulate monetary flows, increase foreign income, and optimize the use of freely convertible currency reserves.
With the publication today of Decree Law 113 , a new mechanism for the management, control and allocation of foreign currency has been established in Cuba; a fundamental measure on the path to macroeconomic stabilization, and one that was planned by the Government Program to eliminate distortions and revitalize the economy.
Supported by complementary regulations (from the Ministry of Economy and Planning, which sets the basis of this mechanism, and from the Central Bank of Cuba), the necessary legal framework has been determined for the full realization of all economic activities that tend to increase income in foreign currencies, and that these are used in the most efficient way possible.
According to the explanation given by the President of the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC), Juana Lilia Delgado Portal, this is a higher-ranking legal regulation that updates previous provisions, which limited economic transactions to Cuban pesos. It now introduces the possibility of other currencies being legal tender alongside the Cuban peso, so that they can be used for foreign exchange payments and collections between economic actors based in Cuba.
This applies to Cuban, foreign, and mixed legal entities, as well as individuals engaged in productive activities or any type of economic transaction involving a payment instrument denominated in foreign currency. It also applies to international economic partnership agreements, local development projects, international cooperation projects, and international organizations.
The Ministry of Economy (MEP) will authorize foreign currency transactions that can be carried out in the country, governed by a set of procedures that will prioritize export activities, productions linked to the export sector, those that allow import substitution, and others that contribute to the primary objective of increasing foreign currency income.
Since the presentation of the Macroeconomic Stabilization Program, it was recognized that, in order to revive the economy, a portion of it had to be allowed to operate in foreign currency. Therefore, what has now been approved is precisely the legal framework under which these transactions must be carried out.
The first thing this kind of "legal umbrella" does—operated by the Ministry of Economy and Planning (MEP) as the governing and controlling body of economic policy, and by the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) as the governing body of monetary and credit policy—is to regulate which part of the economy will operate using foreign currency transactions. Furthermore, it will establish the factors involved in that segment of economic activity, how each of them specifically participates, and how they benefit.
Regarding the regulation concerning the MEP, its head, Joaquín Alonso Vázquez, listed four fundamental objectives:
Organize the foreign exchange management, control and administration system.
Regulate foreign exchange transactions based on existing foreign exchange accounts or through foreign exchange access capacity allocations (ACAD). In other words, it determines how foreign exchange is allocated—by the State—to those participating in the Plan, those who are not exporters but need to import for the economy. It specifies how to access it, how to request it, and even determines its validity period, how long it can be used.
Define what constitutes lawful access to foreign currency.
Specify which transactions within the economy will operate in foreign currency.
Referring to the principles of the regulation, he reiterated that the fundamental goal is to stimulate export revenues. "It's not about circulating foreign currency already in the national economy, but about stimulating exports, about bringing foreign currency in from abroad."
It also promotes import substitution. "There are many areas where it's preferable to buy from domestic industry rather than import the same thing from abroad. This energizes two actors: the buyer and the producer."
Another principle mentioned by the Minister is to encourage the creation of mechanisms for legal access to foreign currency, "something that is closely linked to mechanisms for buying and selling foreign currency in a foreign exchange market that is also undergoing transformation."
In addition, other activities that generate foreign currency income will be encouraged. Among these, he mentioned e-commerce mechanisms with payments from abroad.
In accordance with the principles mentioned by the Minister, the legal framework also clarifies the different legal sources for the entry of foreign currency, as well as the procedures for entities authorized to carry out these transactions to retain a significant portion of the generated currency, thus ensuring the liquidity of their accounts and allowing them to freely dispose of it, especially to reproduce their core business or other activities that allow them to increase their income.
What does the Central Bank of Cuba regulate in this process?
The President of the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) explained that the first thing to be defined is the operation of foreign currency accounts: "how these accounts should be used, who can have them, and for what purposes; because once they are authorized by the Ministry of Economy and Planning (MEP), a foreign currency account must be opened in order to execute the transactions, and that implies a license issued by the BCC."
There is a second regulation governing the procedure for what is called the Allocation of Access to Foreign Currency Capacity (ACAD), which is an authorization issued by the Ministry of Economy and Planning (MEP) to allocate a certain level of foreign currency to economic actors who do not generate it but require it for activities prioritized by the country. Those who benefit from this authorization will be able to purchase foreign currency from the Central Exchange Office using Cuban pesos, applying the official exchange rate in effect.
"This will allow the replacement of what were previously called liquidity capacity accounts (CL). The difference is that the regulation now clearly defines the scope of this instrument and makes it clear that it is an authorization to access these foreign currencies, not a means of payment, which at the time was a distortion that harmed the economy," explained the President of the Central Bank of Cuba.
SOME GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
What fundamental changes does this new mechanism establish?
It helps to stimulate production, exports and the generation of foreign exchange.
It provides greater autonomy to Cuban businesses.
It enables exporters to have timely access to the necessary resources to achieve the expected results and contribute to the country's economic development and the social programs of the Revolution.
It opens up new possibilities for economic actors to link up with the export sector.
Opening of new accounts for foreign currency financing schemes.
Mechanisms are created to guarantee the secure operation of foreign currency accounts.
Cash deposits are accepted from economic actors authorized to receive cash in foreign currency.
For the opening of sight letters of credit, banks may carry out the corresponding risk analysis to decide when the funds are debited.
It strengthens the exchange control function in the allocation of foreign currency.
What benefits do state economic actors and non-state economic management models offer?
State-owned enterprises and non-state management entities will be able to effectively make payments abroad from accounts in Cuban banks. This allows for greater security in safeguarding their resources and reduces the costs associated with maintaining and using accounts abroad.
The new mechanism does not imply changes in the current operation of the accounts of non-state management forms.
It creates the conditions for them to participate in an official foreign exchange market.
It helps to level the playing field between the state and non-state sectors.
Greater autonomy and powers are granted to the business system, which is the fundamental link in the economy.
It allows for the creation of an environment that stimulates production in export-oriented sectors and import substitution. In turn, it should generate links that facilitate the integration of exporters with other productive actors.
The measures conceived in the new mechanism are aimed at improving the organization and administration of foreign exchange transactions within the economy.
In the short term, it will be visible how the operation of foreign exchange transactions within the national economy is established and consolidated, in a partial way; but at the same time, the State increases its regulatory capacity to limit it in the strategic productive sectors that promote economic reactivation and the increase of foreign exchange income.
This should help establish the necessary macroeconomic and financial conditions to gradually shift these foreign currency transactions towards the restoration of the role of the Cuban peso and its convertibility, in a new exchange market transformed by measures that must be implemented in parallel with this new mechanism for managing, controlling and allocating foreign currency, as provided for in the decree-law published today.
rainpizza in cuba
Cuba implements a new mechanism for managing and allocating foreign currency to regulate monetary flows, increase foreign income, and optimize the use of freely convertible currency reserves.
https://www.granma.cu/cuba/2025-12-11/transacciones-en-divisas-un-camino-necesario-para-robustecer-la-economia-nacional-11-12-2025-07-12-45With the publication today of Decree Law 113 , a new mechanism for the management, control and allocation of foreign currency has been established in Cuba; a fundamental measure on the path to macroeconomic stabilization, and one that was planned by the Government Program to eliminate distortions and revitalize the economy.
Supported by complementary regulations (from the Ministry of Economy and Planning, which sets the basis of this mechanism, and from the Central Bank of Cuba), the necessary legal framework has been determined for the full realization of all economic activities that tend to increase income in foreign currencies, and that these are used in the most efficient way possible.
According to the explanation given by the President of the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC), Juana Lilia Delgado Portal, this is a higher-ranking legal regulation that updates previous provisions, which limited economic transactions to Cuban pesos. It now introduces the possibility of other currencies being legal tender alongside the Cuban peso, so that they can be used for foreign exchange payments and collections between economic actors based in Cuba.
This applies to Cuban, foreign, and mixed legal entities, as well as individuals engaged in productive activities or any type of economic transaction involving a payment instrument denominated in foreign currency. It also applies to international economic partnership agreements, local development projects, international cooperation projects, and international organizations.
The Ministry of Economy (MEP) will authorize foreign currency transactions that can be carried out in the country, governed by a set of procedures that will prioritize export activities, productions linked to the export sector, those that allow import substitution, and others that contribute to the primary objective of increasing foreign currency income.
Since the presentation of the Macroeconomic Stabilization Program, it was recognized that, in order to revive the economy, a portion of it had to be allowed to operate in foreign currency. Therefore, what has now been approved is precisely the legal framework under which these transactions must be carried out.
The first thing this kind of "legal umbrella" does—operated by the Ministry of Economy and Planning (MEP) as the governing and controlling body of economic policy, and by the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) as the governing body of monetary and credit policy—is to regulate which part of the economy will operate using foreign currency transactions. Furthermore, it will establish the factors involved in that segment of economic activity, how each of them specifically participates, and how they benefit.
Regarding the regulation concerning the MEP, its head, Joaquín Alonso Vázquez, listed four fundamental objectives:
Organize the foreign exchange management, control and administration system.
Regulate foreign exchange transactions based on existing foreign exchange accounts or through foreign exchange access capacity allocations (ACAD). In other words, it determines how foreign exchange is allocated—by the State—to those participating in the Plan, those who are not exporters but need to import for the economy. It specifies how to access it, how to request it, and even determines its validity period, how long it can be used.
Define what constitutes lawful access to foreign currency.
Specify which transactions within the economy will operate in foreign currency.
Referring to the principles of the regulation, he reiterated that the fundamental goal is to stimulate export revenues. "It's not about circulating foreign currency already in the national economy, but about stimulating exports, about bringing foreign currency in from abroad."
It also promotes import substitution. "There are many areas where it's preferable to buy from domestic industry rather than import the same thing from abroad. This energizes two actors: the buyer and the producer."
Another principle mentioned by the Minister is to encourage the creation of mechanisms for legal access to foreign currency, "something that is closely linked to mechanisms for buying and selling foreign currency in a foreign exchange market that is also undergoing transformation."
In addition, other activities that generate foreign currency income will be encouraged. Among these, he mentioned e-commerce mechanisms with payments from abroad.
In accordance with the principles mentioned by the Minister, the legal framework also clarifies the different legal sources for the entry of foreign currency, as well as the procedures for entities authorized to carry out these transactions to retain a significant portion of the generated currency, thus ensuring the liquidity of their accounts and allowing them to freely dispose of it, especially to reproduce their core business or other activities that allow them to increase their income.
What does the Central Bank of Cuba regulate in this process?
The President of the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) explained that the first thing to be defined is the operation of foreign currency accounts: "how these accounts should be used, who can have them, and for what purposes; because once they are authorized by the Ministry of Economy and Planning (MEP), a foreign currency account must be opened in order to execute the transactions, and that implies a license issued by the BCC."
There is a second regulation governing the procedure for what is called the Allocation of Access to Foreign Currency Capacity (ACAD), which is an authorization issued by the Ministry of Economy and Planning (MEP) to allocate a certain level of foreign currency to economic actors who do not generate it but require it for activities prioritized by the country. Those who benefit from this authorization will be able to purchase foreign currency from the Central Exchange Office using Cuban pesos, applying the official exchange rate in effect.
"This will allow the replacement of what were previously called liquidity capacity accounts (CL). The difference is that the regulation now clearly defines the scope of this instrument and makes it clear that it is an authorization to access these foreign currencies, not a means of payment, which at the time was a distortion that harmed the economy," explained the President of the Central Bank of Cuba.
SOME GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
What fundamental changes does this new mechanism establish?
It helps to stimulate production, exports and the generation of foreign exchange.
It provides greater autonomy to Cuban businesses.
It enables exporters to have timely access to the necessary resources to achieve the expected results and contribute to the country's economic development and the social programs of the Revolution.
It opens up new possibilities for economic actors to link up with the export sector.
Opening of new accounts for foreign currency financing schemes.
Mechanisms are created to guarantee the secure operation of foreign currency accounts.
Cash deposits are accepted from economic actors authorized to receive cash in foreign currency.
For the opening of sight letters of credit, banks may carry out the corresponding risk analysis to decide when the funds are debited.
It strengthens the exchange control function in the allocation of foreign currency.
What benefits do state economic actors and non-state economic management models offer?
State-owned enterprises and non-state management entities will be able to effectively make payments abroad from accounts in Cuban banks. This allows for greater security in safeguarding their resources and reduces the costs associated with maintaining and using accounts abroad.
The new mechanism does not imply changes in the current operation of the accounts of non-state management forms.
It creates the conditions for them to participate in an official foreign exchange market.
It helps to level the playing field between the state and non-state sectors.
Greater autonomy and powers are granted to the business system, which is the fundamental link in the economy.
It allows for the creation of an environment that stimulates production in export-oriented sectors and import substitution. In turn, it should generate links that facilitate the integration of exporters with other productive actors.
The measures conceived in the new mechanism are aimed at improving the organization and administration of foreign exchange transactions within the economy.
In the short term, it will be visible how the operation of foreign exchange transactions within the national economy is established and consolidated, in a partial way; but at the same time, the State increases its regulatory capacity to limit it in the strategic productive sectors that promote economic reactivation and the increase of foreign exchange income.
This should help establish the necessary macroeconomic and financial conditions to gradually shift these foreign currency transactions towards the restoration of the role of the Cuban peso and its convertibility, in a new exchange market transformed by measures that must be implemented in parallel with this new mechanism for managing, controlling and allocating foreign currency, as provided for in the decree-law published today.