Visa and Mastercard payments suspended in Cuba from 6 June after US sanctions cut off processing bank

The suspension

Cuba's central bank announced on Wednesday 3 June that all transactions using Visa and Mastercard cards will be suspended from Saturday 6 June. The move follows a 2 June communication from an unnamed foreign bank that had been processing card operations on the island, informing Cuban authorities that it was terminating its relationship with Fincimex S.A. Fincimex is the financial arm of Gaesa, the Cuban military-linked business conglomerate that was sanctioned by the United States.

This interruption is directly linked to the executive order signed on 1 May by Donald Trump and is part of the strategy of asphyxiation against the Cuban people.

The foreign bank stated that it had become "illicit and impossible to continue executing the agreements with the Cuban entity," according to the central bank's communiqué. Cuba's monetary authority added that the country is now unable to receive revenue from the sale of goods and services through internationally recognised cards such as Visa and Mastercard.

The US sanctions backdrop

The trigger is Executive Order 14404, signed by President Donald Trump on 1 May 2026. The order expanded sanctions on trade with Cuba, targeting individuals and companies that maintain economic, commercial or financial ties with the Cuban government, particularly in the energy, financial and defence sectors. Gaesa was sanctioned on 7 May, and the new decree introduced secondary coercive measures against foreign firms that collaborate with it.

The United States will do whatever is necessary to guarantee its national security.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has given foreign companies until Friday 5 June to adjust their activities or face restrictive measures. Since January, the Trump administration has pursued a policy of maximum pressure against Cuba, characterising the communist island, located 150 km from the Florida coast, as an "extraordinary threat" to US national security.

Wider economic fallout

The card payment suspension is one element of a broader economic squeeze. In recent weeks, the US decree has triggered an exodus of foreign companies from Cuba. Spanish hotel chain Meliá announced on 3 June the end of operations in 15 Cuban hotels with immediate effect. Iberostar had already announced its withdrawal from 12 properties on 1 June. Canadian hotel chain Blue Diamond also announced a complete halt to its activities on the island on 1 June, and Canadian mining company Sherritt had previously exited the Cuban market.

Cuba finds itself unable to receive income from the commercialisation of goods and services through internationally recognised cards such as Visa and Mastercard.

Airlines and shipping companies have also distanced themselves from sanctioned Cuban institutions. In mid-May, Cuba's energy minister announced that the national electricity grid was in a critical state due to disrupted fuel deliveries. The US had imposed an oil embargo on the island of 9.6 million inhabitants in January, paralysing much of Cuba's economic activity.

Alternative payment channels

The central bank noted that other foreign-currency payment methods remain operational, including cash, domestic prepaid cards, and international cards from Russia's Mir and China's UnionPay systems. These alternatives provide a limited lifeline as the traditional card networks withdraw.

Political escalation

The financial measures coincide with deepening political tensions. In May, the United States filed murder charges against former Cuban president Raúl Castro. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that month that Washington would take all necessary steps to protect its national security. President Trump is seeking regime change in the country, which has been under communist rule since 1959. The bilateral relationship has reached a new low point, with Havana defending Gaesa's role as a vehicle for generating foreign currency to keep the Cuban economy functioning in the face of the US embargo in place since 1962.