Cuba scraps CUC

This item appears on page 33 of the March 2021 issue.

The president of Cuba announced on Dec. 10 that, as of Jan. 1, 2021, the country would no longer be using the convertible peso, or CUC. The CUC was created in 1994 and existed alongside the Cuban peso. It was meant to be used by non-Cubans, who were not allowed to exchange foreign currency for pesos while visiting the country. It exchanged at 1-to-1 with the US dollar but had more value on the black market.

At press time, the dollar/peso exchange rate was $1=CUP26.5.