Challenges for a Cuban Arriving in Capitalism
From banknotes to virtual currency
HAVANA TIMES – Cuba is a technologically backward country, ranking among the worst in the world. Of the 43 years I spent there, for the first 36 I knew no form of money other than coins and banknotes.
The Cuban peso is not only extremely devalued, but the ways of using it were entirely analog until quite recently.
In Brazil, for example, magnetic cards have been used since the 1970s, digital transfers have been made since the 1980s, and virtual bank accounts have existed since the middle of the last decade.
Cuba launched the Transfermóvil platform, through which the population was able to carry out its first digital transactions, only in 2015, the year the introduction of Wi-Fi zones made the use of this technology possible.
In Cuban society, the use of paper money remains predominant. Millions of retirees and people without access to technology or the knowledge to use it continue to rely on old-fashioned cash.
The constant power outages, which cause major disruptions to internet services, make the continued use of banknotes essential.
While the use of cash has declined drastically in developed countries, in countries such as Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia it is used in between 40% and 80% of transactions, while in Cuba it is still used in more than 96% of them.
For a Cuban arriving in Brazil, adapting to being paid electronically is difficult, but possible. Things become more complicated when it comes to using and paying for services.
At first, it felt strange to have my wallet empty, or filled only with cards. There are many situations here where paying with cash is simply an obstacle. If you have all your money in cash, for example, you can’t make an online purchase.
However, this is where you must be very careful with scammers and fraudsters. You don’t see them coming, but there are countless ways to trick someone and steal their money, as well as companies that keep your personal information and later use it to open credit accounts in your name and leave you in debt.
And it’s not only scams. There is also the risk of buying poor-quality products or falling for misleading offers, like some sewing rulers my wife bought that turned out to be miniatures.
Once, I subscribed to an illegal streaming platform that charged 167 reais a year and supposedly allowed use on two screens. But it turned out that, without my realizing it, they were charging me 167 reais for each screen, doubling the amount I paid. Since I paid by credit card, I didn’t realize what had happened until after the transaction was completed. There are ways to file a complaint, but they often involve bureaucracy that you simply aren’t willing to go through.
Currently, repairs are being carried out in the condominium where we live. The costs are supposed to be charged to the owner of the apartment, but they first appear on our bill, and then the real estate agency deducts the amount from our payment the following month.
It is inconvenient and temporarily diverts some of our resources and attention. It is imposed on us and made more feasible by the existence of electronic money.
Electronic money is a resource that makes many things possible and provides the peace of mind of not having your money physically stolen. But it has also brought with it an entire culture of virtual deception and dishonesty, because evil has not disappeared; it has simply moved to a different environment.