Remittances sent from Spain abroad reached 10.7 billion euros, according to official data, but Cuba's figures for sending remittances in euros from Spain are very low. Why does this happen and what are the best ways to send money from Europe to the island?
Within the large volume of euro remittance shipments from Spain, Cuba receives a significantly lower amount compared to other Latin American countries, which indicates a reduced economic flow in this regard, as migration has been quite substantial in recent years due to the Grandchildren Law.
Historically, Latin American countries are the main recipients of remittances sent from Spain, with Colombia, Ecuador, and the Dominican Republic leading the list. Conversely, Cuba is not among the main destinations, according to data.
Does this reflect a lower presence of Cuban immigrants in Spain compared to other Latin American groups, or is it that Cubans do not trust the current mechanisms for transferring euros and prefer to send cash?
Other factors are the limitations imposed by banking and money transfer policies to Cuba, which make it difficult to send funds. Transnational companies like Western Union currently do not send money to the island, and moreover, beneficiaries in Cuba do not receive cash; instead, they exchange it for Convertible Currency (MLC), which is not convenient for many Cubans in Spain.
In many cases, support for family members in Cuba is provided through the shipment of goods or travel instead of direct monetary transfers.
While in 2023 Colombia received 1.5 billion euros in remittances from Spain, Ecuador 900 million, and the Dominican Republic 700 million, Cuba remains with lower figures of euro transfers from this country.
This situation contrasts with the high dependence on remittances in the Cuban economy, where transfers from the U.S. represent a crucial source of income for many families.
Given the current context, it is unlikely that remittances from Spain to Cuba will experience significant growth in the short term. Factors such as immigration policy, the economic situation of Cuban migrants in Spain, and financial restrictions will continue to influence this limited flow of remittance transfers.
Officially, two agencies handle remittances in Cuba: Fincimex and ORBIT. Both maintain a network of platforms with which they have agreements for sending money to the country. Tocopay It is a platform that acts and serves for sending remittances from Spain. For more options, please review this enlace.
Continue reading in Directory News
Follow our channels of WhatsApp, Telegram y Facebook.
the other are the commissions charged by the few companies that carry out this shipment to Cuba
What is the best way to send money from Spain to Cuba?
The issue is that the routes Spain turns to and the Cuban mechanisms force us to seek alternative paths that are not stories because they are practically informal and our means of salvation.
But I face obstacles. Many Spanish banks do not have agreements with Cuban banks. Santander deducts 30% of each transfer, which is unheard of. Correos de España has a very efficient shipping system, but when you send money to Cuba, the family member does not see it: they are paid at the exchange rate, which is a negligible amount in Cuban pesos. And we work ourselves to the bone to help our loved ones, not the country's rulers, who are largely responsible for the crisis in Cuba. We resort to the informal route because they put the cash directly into the family member's hands, even converted to US dollars, which are traded at 340 Cuban pesos. The Cuban government is very greedy and, in trying to make a lot of money, loses out to the informal market. This also happens with bank transfers: they receive a lot but pay little, and they do not take into account the informal competition that neither equals nor surpasses them. They are much more concerned that people do not prosper.
Remember that the government prefers the US dollar