Cuba Gets Access to Digital Money Transfers with Western Union

It wasn’t so long ago that doing most any kind of business with Cuba was frowned upon if not outright illegal.

With recent changes to laws and attitudes, however, some have been questioning if now may not be just the right time to start doing business in the country once again.

Western Union seems to have taken that bull by the horns and set up shop in the region, opening up both digital and mobile money transfers to Cubans.

Western Union has actually been in the Cuban market for some time, reports note, going back to the last millennium.

Users turning to Western Union will now see a “Send to Cuba” option when either using Western Union’s mobile app or its website.

Users will be able to not only send, but also track the transfers until the funds are paid out, and when paid, the recipient will be paid in Cuba’s local currency.

With a network of 420 agent locations throughout the country, there will likely be no shortage of users turning to this method to send and receive payments.

Western Union’s president of the Americas and European Union, Odilon Almeida, commented “We expedited activation of our digital money transfer convenience for senders in the Cuban diaspora as we know first-hand the value of remittances to the economic security of families and funding of small businesses.

Expanding accessibility and moving money in minutes is what underpins our entire omnichannel strategy.”

Businesses expanding into Cuban operations is something many are considering, though in many cases doing on something of a limited basis thanks to some unusual laws and business operations styles in the region.

It’s a bit of a risk, by some reports, but given that Western Union has had at least some presence in the region for the last 15 years or so, expansion may well have proven a safe bet thanks to sheer longevity.

At any rate, Cuba is about to get a taste of the mobile payments lifestyle, and while it may be a while before the rest of the market comes flooding in to address the roughly 60 years’ worth of pent-up demand in the region, things like this must always start somewhere, and it looks like the start is coming with Western Union.