What currency does your Visa get charged with in Cuba?

Question

I'm off to Cuba in a few weeks and as one of my money options I'll be taking a Travel Visa card that can be pre-loaded with Euros, Pounds or US dollars. Bizzairely, I read somewhere that if you use a credit card in Cuba, the charge goes against your credit card in US dollars. (?!?!)

Can anyone who has used a Visa in Cuba let me know what currency the charge came through as, as I want to avoid double-conversion, and conversion charges as much as possible.

Any other money hints for an Aussie travelling in Cuba most welcome as the "don't take too much cash, don't take credit cards, don't take travellers cheques" advice is a bit of a catch-22....

Also, if anyone has used an ANZ travel card in Cuba, and can confirm that it really does work there, that'd be REALLY handy to know!

Answer 1

First of all, ANZ travel cards CANNOT be used in Cuba due to the US sanctions. The first web-link below shows the information regarding this:

"Pre-paid cards won’t work in countries affected by US economic sanctions, currently Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya and Sudan."

Now regarding VISA in Cuba. Yes you can use VISA but charges will go on in US dollars. However, if you're not comfortable taking a lot of cash, take travellers cheques but just make sure the travellers cheques are not affiliated with ANY American financial institution (such as American Express). I needed to use my RBC Visa for a cash advance. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. But I only did it once.

However, if you take cash, don't convert everything into CUC right away...do it as you need maybe every two days so you don't lose when you convert back to your money (since CUC pesos have no value outside of Cuba).

Euros, Pounds, CAD, Sterlings will never be charged for converting into CUC (whether cash or travellers cheques).

Hopefully that answered your questions and was of some help to you.

In regards to your Travel Visa (pre-loaded card)...if it's not a 'credit card', then there should be no charges since it's already a cash card (from the way you're explaining)...but if it's a CREDIT card, then you will be charged US funds. That's just the way the economics of it all works.

Don't let that advice for an Aussie confuse you. Your travels are no different for you than for everybody else. Just don't bring any US cash if you can avoid it into Cuba, otherwise you will be subject to at least 10% charge for conversion. If you bring any US based credit cards or travellers cheques, they will NOT be accepted at all.

If anything here was not explained clearly, please let me know.

Have the most amazing time in Cuba. You will have the time of your life.

********EDIT:

Goldfish9, I just checked again to be sure. Travellex is not allowed as you also confirmed. But ANZ is not allowed either.

Check the last link (I'll include the quote from that link....it's a long file)....

"ANZ does not have any branches or representative offices in Cuba. ANZ’s maximum permitted exposure to Cuba is the equivalent of US$26.5 million. ANZ’s contact with Cuba has been limited to the financing of the export of dairy product by a New Zealand customer and the import of nickel by a Chinese customer.

Cuba, Sudan and Iran have been designated by the United States as State sponsors of terrorism and are subject to United States economic sanctions. Iran is currently also subject to United Nations sanctions."

So it's best if you just stick with cash and travellers cheques. But take your credit card anyway. It will come in handy for any emergencies or necessary cash. If you don't use it all the time but seriously need it for something that you can't pay for at the time, it won't wipe out your bank account. It was helpful for me when I needed it. If you need $100 to put on your credit card, you'll end up with $90...don't worry so much...just be careful how you spend.

******EDIT: Goldfish9, here is another site I forgot to add that gives you the information regarding VISA credit card charges..."Visa & MasterCard are accepted provided they are not issued by a US Bank. The amount charged to your credit card will be in US Dollars. This will be calculated at 11.5% more than the CUC amount."

http://www.cubaabsolutely.com/money.html

Answer 2

You can definitivelly use a Visa , MC in Cuba, as long as they are not from a US bank , but if they are from any other bank ( european or australian for instance ) they can be used, but cash is the best choice as not all places in Cuba have the adecuate equipment to swipe the cards , especially if you go shopping in the Old Havana market or other popular places, as they only take CASH, it does not matter what currency you get charged on the card , as long as it is american , it wont work. On the other hand for every dollar you take you will be penalized a 10% tax, plus the exchage rate is 0.92 for a dollar so for every dollar you get aprox 0.82 not 0.90 I was there last May, beleive you me I saw my dollars desapear as magic.. if you need to know the currency exchange rate in Cuba at the moment , check the Cuban national bank website for updates: