The Complicated Cuban Currency Situation

For those who are unfamiliar with the currency system in Cuba, I’m going to fill you in. One because it’s interesting, and two because it will be a lot easier later on in this blog when I reference any sort of Cuban dinero. So there are two Cuban currencies. One is the Cuban national currency called Cuban pesos and known as moneda nacional by the people. This currency is worth almost nothing, one MN is about 0.04 USD. Cubans are paid in this currency and you can find small restaurants and other services that operate in MN. For years, the dollar was accepted in Cuba and then it became illegal in Cuba. A few years ago, they took the dollar out of Cuba and no longer accepted it at all. Instead, they introduced a new currency, the convertible peso, or CUC. People call it either “kook” or say the letters in Spanish so, “say-u-say”. This currency is worth 1.08 USD. The CUC causes a lot of problems for the Cubans. Most necessities such as clothing, shoes, toiletries, home goods, and appliances are sold in CUC. A lot of restaurants and “convenient stores” also operate in CUC. Sometimes tickets for shows are in CUC, along with other things. Some events and attractions such as the aquarium and art museum have entrance fees in both currencies, but sometimes this doesn’t happen. So Cubans get paid in moneda nacional which is worth a lot less than the CUC and then can only buy the things they need with a currency that they don’t have. They can exchange their MN for CUC but it could take months for them to have enough money to buy a new pair of shoes. The CUC was made for the tourists that visit Cuba. Therefore, the only people with real access to CUC are tourists and the Cubans with family outside of Cuba. This ends up creating a class divide between the Cubans with access to the CUC and those without. This also makes it possible for taxi drivers to make more money than doctors because they are getting tipped by tourists in CUC.
We converted our dollars to CUC but also converted to some moneda to use whenever we could. By doing this, we saved a lot of money and usually got a better meal and experience anyways.