Common Questions

What is CADECA in Cuba?: CADECA (Casa de Cambio S.A.) is Cuba's state-run currency exchange network. It is the primary legal foreign exchange point and began accepting cash dollar remittances in April 2026 in an attempt to recapture flows lost to informal money-changers.Source: Cuba Dispatch Update 1
Why did CADECA start accepting cash dollar remittances in 2026?: Formal remittances had fallen 70% below the 2019 baseline as flows migrated to informal banquero networks after US sanctions disrupted formal channels. CADECA opened cash windows to recapture some of those flows.Source: Havana Consulting Group / CiberCuba
How do Cubans send money home in 2026?: Most remittances flow through informal banquero networks since US sanctions disrupted formal channels. CADECA opened cash dollar windows on 7 April 2026 as an official alternative.Source: Havana Consulting Group
Why did CADECA start accepting cash dollar remittances in April 2026?: CADECA launched cash dollar acceptance on 7 April 2026 to recapture remittance flows running 70 per cent below the 2019 baseline, which had migrated to informal banquero networks after sanctions closed formal corridors like Western Union.Source: Cuba Dispatch / Havana Consulting Group
Did the CADECA dollar scheme reduce Cuba's informal exchange rate?: No. Eighteen days after the 7 April 2026 launch, the Informal USD/CUP rate had risen from 510 to 530, the euro broke 600 CUP (a record), and the banquero spread against the official 492 rate had widened by about 20 pesos.Source: Cuba Dispatch
What is the CADECA exchange rate compared to the informal rate in Cuba?: As of 22-24 April 2026, the official Banco Central rate was 492 CUP per dollar. The informal banquero rate was 530, a 38-peso spread representing the premium for speed and discretion outside state channels.Source: Cuba Dispatch
How far below normal are formal remittances to Cuba?: Formal remittances to Cuba are running approximately 70 per cent below the 2019 baseline, according to analysts at the Havana Consulting Group cited at the time of the CADECA announcement in April 2026.Source: Havana Consulting Group
Did Cuba's CADECA dollar reform make a difference?: No. After CADECA began accepting cash dollars on 7 April 2026, the El Toque informal rate rose from 510 to 530 CUP per dollar in 18 days, and continued to 568 by late May. No formal-channel volume data was published to indicate uptake.Source: Cuba Dispatch Updates 2-5
Why do Cubans use informal money changers instead of CADECA?: Informal banquero networks offer higher rates, faster transfers, and discretion. In late May 2026 the El Toque informal rate was 568 CUP per dollar, well above CADECA's official rate, and US sanctions have blocked most formal remittance corridors including Western Union.Source: Cuba Dispatch Update 2
How much do Cubans abroad send home in remittances?: Formal remittances are running about 70 per cent below the 2019 baseline according to the Havana Consulting Group. Most flows have moved to informal networks, which CADECA's April 2026 reform failed to reverse.Source: Cuba Dispatch Update 1

Background

CADECA (Casa de Cambio S.A.) is Cuba's state-run currency exchange network, operating through offices across the island. It was established to manage Cuba's dual-currency system and remains the primary legal exchange point for foreign currency. After the 2021 Tarea Ordenamiento monetary reform unified the CUP and CUC, CADECA's central role shifted to channelling hard-currency flows between the diaspora and the domestic economy. US sanctions on Western Union and other formal remittance corridors, combined with bank de-risking following EO 14380, have pushed the majority of diaspora remittance flow into informal banquero networks, with formal remittances running 70 per cent below the 2019 baseline (Havana Consulting Group).

On 7 April 2026 CADECA announced that its offices would begin accepting cash dollar remittances, a significant policy reversal intended to recapture flows lost to informal networks. The trial failed to compress the informal premium. Over the 18 days from launch, the El Toque Informal USD/CUP rate rose from 510 to 530; the euro broke 600 CUP on 19 April (the highest on record); the official Banco Central rate of 492 CUP lagged by around 38 pesos; and no formal-channel volume data was published by CADECA, Fincimex, or the Havana Consulting Group. By early May the informal rate had risen further to 540 CUP, and by late May 2026 reached 568 CUP as the Sovcomflot tanker Universal turned away without delivering fuel.

CADECA's reform failure illustrates the limits of institutional levers in an economy where trust in state channels has collapsed. The diaspora and domestic households prefer informal banquero networks that offer speed, higher rates, and discretion, regardless of CADECA's official pricing. Any substantive narrowing of the informal spread would require either a supply-side improvement in hard-currency availability or a significant policy shift in sanctions pressure from Washington.

Source Material

Havana Consulting Group CADECA — Casa de Cambio S.A.

How the World Sees Them

Cuba

Sees cash-dollar windows as a mechanism to reclaim hard-currency reserves lost to informal networks; the failure at the 18-day mark raises questions about pricing credibility and trust in state channels.

Havana

Sees CADECA cash-dollar windows as a mechanism to reclaim hard-currency reserves lost to informal networks.

Washington

Sanctions on formal remittance channels (Western Union) are part of the pressure strategy that drove flows informal, making the CADECA reversal a downstream consequence of US policy.

Cuban diaspora

Must weigh official CADECA rates against faster, higher-rate informal banquero transfers; the persistent 70+ CUP informal premium makes CADECA unattractive for most practical transfers.