Western Union is suspending US dollar money transfers to Cuba

The largest money transfer service in the world, Western Union, has decided to suspend US dollar transfers to Cuba following the latest sanction set by the Trump administration. The provision implies that customers and Investors Americans with Cuban families or friends will now have to find alternative ways to send them money.

Tail shot of the Trump administration in US financial policy

Trump is no longer the president of the United States but the transition to the new administration of President-elect Joe Biden has not yet been completed. In this context, another controversial and restrictive action in Trump's financial policy will affect the US economy and beyond.

"Today we informed our customers that they have limited time to send money to their loved ones from the United States to Cuba, due to a new US government rule that will take effect on November 26, 2020," Western Union said in an official post.

Such a development in US financial policy can be seen as a reminder of the fundamental value proposition offered by the cryptocurrency industry: decentralized networks know no borders and are open to all users for the purposes of sending and receiving money (although the 'use of centralized exchanges can lead to the same problems).

US-Cuba relations have been difficult since the Communist regime was established in 1959 and reached a low in 1961 at the height of the Cold War. After several years of normalizing relations between the two nations under the Obama administration, US President Donald Trump began re-establishing travel sanctions and restrictions in 2017.

The alternative proposal of cryptocurrencies to circumvent restrictions

Local YouTube influencer Erich García Cruz said Cubans have bypassed these monetary restrictions by turning to cryptocurrencies. “Thousands of Cubans buy cards from Bitrefill to consume those digital services by paying with cryptocurrencies.

There is no other way, ”Cruz said in an August interview referring to the bitcoin startup. However, Western Union said it "will continue to explore every possible option to find a solution" for its customers despite the US ban, which aims to block the sending of funds to the military, intelligence or intelligence services. Cuban security or personnel.

According to Western Union, customers can no longer send US dollars to Cuba as of November 22nd, while Cuban recipients cannot receive funds after November 23rd. However, the blockade may still prove to be temporary as US President-elect Joe Biden signaled his intention to restore former President Barack Obama's position on maintaining friendly relations with Cuba.