Cuba’s government is restricting cash use in a bid to ‘force businesses and citizens to use electronic payments.’ The move is proving unpopular with citizens for whom banknotes in hand bring choice, privacy and personal control over their finances, and thus their lives.
France 24 reports that over the coming months into early 2024, the government will limit cash payments to 5,000 pesos (around $200) with the goal of driving people towards cashless payments that will offer it greater power to regulate the flow of money through the nation’s economy. Such limitations transfer what economic power people possess—with cash usable by anyone to pay for any good or service—to higher authorities, whose priorities may be quite different to that of the individual.
Existing limits on cash withdrawals have resulted in longer lines at ATMs, encouraging people to hold and use larger amounts of cash to avoid banks whenever possible.
