Amid confusion, Western Union says Cuban Americans can still send money to Cuba
As confusion reigns over the implications of new U.S sanctions on Cuba announced last week, Western Union wants Cuban Americans looking to send money to their family on the island to know that, so far, “it’s business as usual.”
For how long is yet to be seen. Last week, the State Department announced it was adding Fincimex, a Cuban company controlled by the military, to its Cuba Restricted List. People and companies under U.S. jurisdiction cannot generally engage in direct transactions with the entities named on the list.
Fincimex, a subsidiary of the larger conglomerate Cimex, is the Cuban company that handles remittances and processes foreign-issued bank cards. It is also Western Union’s exclusive representative on the island.
Companies dealing with Fincimex, most notably Western Union and other agencies sending money to Cuba, were left on their own to figure out how the new sanction would affect their businesses.
The announcement was meant to be official Friday when a notification was to appear in the Federal Register. Still, even that left people scratching their heads as the notice went on without Fincimex’s name on it.
A State Department spokesperson said the agency will correct the notice “that inadvertently omitted FINCIMEX” from the list, and the sanction will become effective when the correction is published on the Federal Register.
For the moment, Western Union says that nothing has changed.
“We can confirm that our business and services from the U.S. to Cuba are operating as usual and in compliance with U.S. law and regulations,” said Margaret D. Fogarty, a spokesperson for the company. “Customers can send money via retail locations or digitally via westernunion.com or our app. Any future changes to services will be communicated directly to our stakeholders.”
The company has not received additional guidance to understand the implications of the State Department’s announcement, which are not readily evident. Western Union had been previously authorized to send remittances to Cuba, and the presidential memorandum ordering the creation of the restricted list in 2017 includes an exception for remittances.
“With respect to Fincimex, to those using the services of Western Union Company and Mastercard, the message is: Don’t pay attention to what is in the Cuba Restricted List; do pay attention to what the companies are permitting,” said John Kavulich, the president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council.
Kavulich said that it was not unreasonable for companies to believe that general and specific licenses or authorizations issued by the Treasury Department “trump what is in the Cuba Restricted List.”
A State Department spokesperson said the addition of Fincimex “will address the regime’s attempts to capture the flow of hard currency intended for the Cuban people,” noting that the military-controlled company takes a cut of every remittance it processes.
At the same time, the spokesperson also said that “individuals sending money to their family members and authorized travelers may still engage in lawful transactions.”
Since the Treasury Department has yet to issue any guidance on the subject, it is up to company lawyers to decide what to do.
“Companies doing business with FINCIMEX will need to review the relevant regulations to determine the impact on their operations,” the State Department spokesperson said.
The Treasury Department and the White House did not reply to an email from the Herald asking for clarification. The State Department did not say if the addition of Fincimex to its black list will prevent Western Union from having any dealings with that company.
Meanwhile, in Cuba, independent media outlet 14ymedio reported that the anxiety generated by the news about Fincimex produced long lines to get money at Western Union offices in Havana.
The lack of clarity has left experts and stakeholders wondering if the announcement was merely about the optics, as the presidential elections approach.
But the announcement and the confusion around it might serve another purpose, said Kavulich: to “create uncertainty” around doing business with Cuba, “and companies don’t like uncertainty.”
Follow Nora Gámez Torres on Twitter: @ngameztorres
This story was originally published June 12, 2020 at 3:45 PM.