Popular Bank gradually responds to demand for foreign currency accounts

Cuban collaborators and other segments of the population have been unable to use their foreign currency bank accounts for years.

Yeney Ceballo Hernández, head of the Personal Banking Department at the Popular Savings Bank in the province, explains how the bank has responded to these demands in recent months.

“For us, collaborators are a sensitive and important segment, and they receive special treatment. Why? Because they are doctors working abroad, and many of them are guaranteeing the foreign currency that the country so desperately needs today, even though sometimes the problem couldn’t be resolved at a given time. What happened? Starting in February 2025, this special treatment began. Of the more than 100 collaborators, over 77 percent have been paid, and 23 percent are still pending. This 23 percent is not because the bank has refused to pay them, but because they are abroad.” And today one comes who is finishing a mission; they come sporadically like this, but they are given the treatment they deserve.”

Regarding the treatment of other clients who also have foreign currency accounts at Banco Popular de Ahorro, he explained, “The bank had to adopt a strategy, which I think was very appropriate, of creating a list of outstanding balances, which we call ‘claims,’ and these outstanding claims are paid as foreign currency becomes available through deposits or other income, according to the date corresponding to the person’s seniority. Some people have very large amounts owed, and partial payments are made as foreign currency becomes available.

“In the case of transfers received from abroad, almost all pending transfers have been paid to date. We are also monitoring this because it is a sensitive area; many people receive money from abroad.” There was a time when that list of pending transfers was enormous; we couldn’t even access funds to pay 50 pesos. But now they’re being processed, and almost all the pending transfers have been resolved.

One of the ways to respond to these demands has been the use of the floating exchange rate. “This floating rate has solved an old problem: people had foreign currency but couldn’t do anything because it was on that list of pending transfers. Many people have accessed this floating rate and exchanged their foreign currency at today’s rate. And many of them leave that money in the bank or withdraw it.”