Cuba relaxes foreign currency account regulations for private businesses

Cuba has approved new regulations regarding foreign currency bank accounts that allow private entrepreneurs and other non-state economic actors to deposit foreign currency cash and make overseas payments for imports, financing, and other permitted purposes.

“The opening of foreign currency accounts in banks by individuals and legal entities is carried out without requiring prior permission from the Central Bank of Cuba,” the central bank stated in Resolution 102/2026, as reported by local media.

The regulation replaces Resolution 125/2025, which had previously governed foreign currency accounts since December.

These non-state economic actors include cooperatives, agricultural producers, communicators, artists, and other creators operating outside the state sector.

The new framework alters the rules regarding foreign currency cash deposits by non-state economic actors. The regulation also enables them to make overseas payments for imports, financing, and other legally permitted purposes.

Furthermore, the regulation permits transfers between foreign currency accounts, as well as the purchase or sale of foreign currency through authorised exchange mechanisms. Account holders remain responsible for all transactions conducted through their accounts.

Banks are also required to implement due diligence measures in accordance with regulations regarding the prevention of money laundering, terrorism financing, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

These measures are intended to simplify foreign currency transactions for non-state economic actors while providing greater flexibility in their access to the banking system.

Since late 2025, the government has introduced several measures allowing non-state businesses to access foreign currency through the banking system. In June, private entrepreneurs were also permitted to deposit US dollars in cash without the obligation to convert them into Cuban pesos.

These changes come as Cuba faces a severe economic crisis, ongoing foreign currency shortages, and a widening gap between the official and informal exchange rates.

Resolution 102/2026 will come into effect seven days after its publication, or around 17 September.