14ymedio, Havana, 28 March 2024 — The Cuban regime took another step this Wednesday in its attempt to capture a greater amount of foreign exchange. The Clásica card, issued by Fincimex, the financial wing of the Gaesa military conglomerate, can now receive remittances from any country through the Tocopay application, based in Bilbao, Spain. Fincimex also announced days ago the restoration of transfers to American International Service (AIS) cards, rechargeable by the same gateway, which had been suspended since February.
The dramatic fall in remittances sent to Cuba in recent years has forced the regime to devise alternatives to attract foreign exchange. In 2023, Cuban emigrants sent just under 1.973 billion dollars to the Island, the same amount as in 2010. This is a decrease of 47% compared to the 2019 figure (3.716 billion).
The Clásica cards, issued by Fincimex bank branches, in which money is deposited in dollars, were created by the regime along with the economic reforms at the beginning of the year and include the option of buying fuel in the gas station in dollars.
Tocopay is the Spanish platform for sending remittances, created for Cuba
Tocopay, the Spanish platform for sending remittances to Cuba, not only offers the possibility of making deposits on the Clásica and AIS debit cards, but also of sending money to the cards in MLC (freely convertible currency) of the Metropolitan, Popular Savings (BPA) or Credit and Commerce (Bandec) banks.
This Thursday, a post on Tocopay’s social networks highlights the benefits of acquiring a Classic card: a 5% discount in Cimex, Caribe and Trimagen stores (all Gaesa companies), and a 10% discount on Gaviota’s tourist facilities, also owned by the military consortium. “That’s not all. New features and incentives will be announced soon,” the post promises.
Tocopay also allows
