Convertible peso

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Peso cubano convertible
Country: CubaCuba Cuba
Subdivision: 100 centavos
ISO 4217 code : CUC
Abbreviation: $
Exchange rate :
(August 24, 2020)

1 CUC = 1  USD (fixed)

EUR  = 1.1847 CUC
1 CUC = 0.8441 EUR

CHF  = 1.1009 CUC
1 CUC = 0.90833 CHF

The convertible peso ( Spanish peso cubano convertible ), ISO code : CUC (pronounced: [sə ʊ sə] , more rarely: [kuk] ), is one of two currencies in Cuba alongside the Cuban peso . It was originally introduced in 1994 as a domestic alternative to the US dollar , legalized in Cuba in 1993 , to whose value it is tied. Today it serves as a clearing unit between Cuban companies and as a means of payment, for example in shops for high-quality consumer goods. A convertible peso is also divided into 100 centavos. Contrary to its name, the convertible peso is not freely convertible , but can only be legally exchanged in state banks and exchange offices within Cuba.

In October 2013 the government announced that it had passed a plan to merge the two currencies used in parallel. However, it did not provide any information on the expected duration of its implementation. However, a law published in March 2014 made it clear that the convertible peso would be abolished in the course of currency consolidation .

Denominations and design of the banknotes

There are banknotes of 1, 3, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 pesos convertibles in circulation, there are also coins with the values ​​1, 5, 10, 25 and 50 centavos, as well as 1 and 5 pesos convertibles.

Monuments of Cuban national heroes are depicted on the front of the banknotes. Since the new edition in December 2006, events from Cuban history have been symbolically depicted on the back . The banknotes of the first edition (1994-2006) have a uniform representation of the Cuban national coat of arms on the reverse.

history

When the Cuban economy fell into a serious crisis after the collapse of the Soviet Union , the Cuban government decided in 1993 to legalize the US dollar as a means of payment. In doing so, it accepted the fact that the US currency had long been established on the black market for goods that had become scarce, which was becoming increasingly important for the Cuban people . Between 1989 and 1993 the dollar's street exchange rate rose from 7 to 160 pesos. At the same time, the state urgently needed foreign currency for its imports, after trade relations with the former Comecon countries had largely ceased to exist. In 1994 the dollar was countered by the convertible peso as the local currency.

The tourists , the number of which increased sharply in the 1990s, now had to pay (almost) everything in dollars. In this way the state secured a constantly bubbling source of foreign exchange. For tourists, diplomats and Cubans with special authorization, dollar shops were built similar to the Intershops in the GDR , in which so-called "luxury goods" (goods that are not or only rarely available in the libreta system) could be bought for foreign currency . Later the general public was also allowed to shop there. Since there were many goods there that were not or no longer available in normal peso shops, a parallel currency was created that was stronger than the local peso . Tobacco and sugar cane workers received part of their wages in dollars for a time.

In 2004, the US dollar was abolished as legal tender in Cuba, but its possession remained legal. The convertible peso now completely took its place. This was officially justified with the "gang activity of the US empire against Cuba" ( Castro ). The primary motive, however, is likely to have been the better exploitation of foreign currency sources, since the currency valid in Cuba could not be exchanged abroad and the corresponding transaction fees could now only accrue to Cuban banks. The change took place on November 8th: all bank balances were converted into CUC on that day without any discounts. In practice, however, the change actually only meant a name change: the two-currency system was retained.

In October 2013, the Cuban government published a declaration in which it announced the merger of the two parallel Cuban currencies, without, however, giving any specific information on the timing of the necessary measures. The Council of Ministers had adopted a timetable , the statement first published in Granma , the official organ of the Communist Party of Cuba , said. The first phase only concerns accounting firms. As a practical measure that will also affect the population, the option of paying the purchase price in Cuban pesos (CUP) at the conversion rate of 25: 1 will be introduced on a trial basis in selected state businesses that have so far only accepted convertible pesos (CUC) . As early as 2008, after officially assuming the office of President , Raúl Castro spoke publicly of his intention to gradually abolish the two-currency system. He said at the time that it would take about four or five years. In the on the VI. The “Guidelines for Economic and Social Policy” adopted at the PCC's party congress in April 2011, the end of currency duality was then defined as a goal. The guidelines are the orientation framework for the realignment of the Cuban political and economic system initiated under Raúl Castro after the resignation of the revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, who ruled the country from 1959 to 2006, due to illness.

Exchange rates

The convertible peso is pegged to the US dollar (USD) rate. Initially the ratio was 1: 1. On April 9, 2005, the CUC appreciated against the dollar to 1: 1.08. An exchange fee of 3% is deducted from the amount in CUC, so that the exchange rate was 1: 1.11341. However, this can vary slightly from bank to bank. Since March 14, 2011, a parity exchange rate of 1: 1 between the dollar and the CUC has been in effect again. This is intended to make imports more expensive and strengthen the domestic market.

The exchange rates of the other currencies (for example the euro ) to the peso convertible are calculated accordingly from their current daily rate to the US dollar and the fixed exchange ratio USD / CUC. Cash in US dollars is bought by Cuban banks, unlike other foreign currencies, with an additional discount of 10%.

Since the convertible peso is not a currency that is traded on the international currency markets , credit card payments ( Eurocard / Mastercard and Visa ) are billed in US dollars. To do this, the price of the goods paid or the cash amount paid out by the Cuban bank is converted into US dollars in the credit card statement.

When the dollar was legalized in the summer of 1993, the exchange rate for the Cuban peso was set at 130 for one dollar. The devaluation process of the original currency could then be stopped and the Cuban economy slowly recovered from the lowest point of its crisis. The lowest dollar purchase rate since 1993 in the state-owned CADECA exchange offices between April and July 1998 was 19 Pesos Cubanos. Since March 2005 the exchange rate between the convertible peso and Cubano peso has been fixed at 1:24 (purchase of CUC) and 1:25 (sale), after it was last at 1: 26/1: 27. Despite the political focus under Raúl Castro's leadership on strengthening the Cuban economy since 2008, there has not yet been any significant improvement in the overall situation that would enable the peso Cubano to appreciate against the peso convertible. In the national accounts , a ratio of 1: 1 is used between the two currencies.

Individual evidence

  1. a b Nota Oficial. In: Granma of October 22, 2013 (Spanish).
  2. Cuba abolishes parallel currency. In: FAZ.net of October 22, 2013.
  3. Pavel Vidal: “La desaparición del CUC va a ser bastante rápida” , Progreso semanal, March 8, 2014 (Spanish).
  4. Billetes Convertibles ( Memento of the original from January 21, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bc.gov.cu archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , from the National Bank of Cuba's website, accessed August 21, 2013 (Spanish).
  5. Mario A. González-Corzo: Cuba's De-Dollarization Program: Principal Characteristics and Possible Motivations (PDF, 8 p .; 108 kB), p. 58, in: Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy: Cuba in Transition, 2006 , accessed on July 31, 2016.
  6. Knut Henkel: 20 years of the US dollar in Cuba: Two currencies, two worlds. In: taz.de from August 3, 2013, accessed on October 22, 2013.
  7. José Luis Rodríguez: On the two sides of the reunification of money - 20 years later . In: Marxistische Blätter , Volume 2014 (2014), Issue 1, pp. 108–111.
  8. Cuba: Raúl Castro afirma que hay que eliminar la doble moneda, pero poco a poco. ( Memento of the original from November 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.infolatam.com archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Infolatam of September 19, 2008, accessed October 31, 2013 (Spanish).
  9. Acerca de Cuba  ( page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Feritur Ecuador, accessed October 4, 2012.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / feritur.net  
  10. Cuba restablece paridad entre el peso convertible y el dólar , Cubadebate of 14 March 2011th
  11. ^ Cuba: vers la fin du casse-tête de la double monnaie. In: 20 minutes from October 22, 2013 (French).
  12. Exchange Rates Unchanged. ( Memento of the original from December 7, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.cubatrade.org archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Economic Eye on Cuba , July 1998, accessed October 23, 2013.
  13. Acuerdo no. 13/2005 of the Comité de Política Monetaria del Banco Central de Cuba .
  14. Silvia Dreher: Monetary Policy in Cuba (PDF, 6 p .; 90 kB), p. 287, in: Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy: Cuba in Transition , 2009, accessed on July 31, 2016 (English).
  15. Bernd-D. Wieth: International management seminar of the MBA course: Cuba ( Memento from May 11, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 338 kB), in: Yearbook Economy 2010/2011, University of Applied Sciences Mainz.

Web links

Wiktionary: Peso convertible  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations