How can I find an ATM card usable in Cuba, by a US Citizen?

6/20/2014 1:30:20 AM

Australian issued credit and debit cards (MasterCard and Visa) work just fine in Cuba. It’s quite straightforward to get a pre-paid card and you can be anonymous if you choose. Alternatively, you can register your card online with the issuer and use their online service to top up the card.

Pre-paid cards can be purchased from a number of issuers, and a popular one is Australia Post. The “Load & Go Travel Card” is probably the ideal solution.

http://auspost.com.au/travel-id/load-and-go-travel-card.html

These can be purchased at any Australia Post outlet. If you’re not in Australia, maybe ask someone here to buy one for you and post it to you. You can then charge it up online with Euros, which is the preferred currency in Cuba.

8/6/2013 9:37:38 AM

I have a friend of a friend who used a prepaid AMIGO TRAVEL CLUB card in Cuba. They are a bank in Antigua and he was able to open an account online as an American citizen. I think this also involved e-mailing them a copy of his passport and driver’s license. Once the account is open, you can charge the account by wire transfer from your bank and then withdraw the money using the card.

I think these kind of institutions are pretty sketchy and personally I wouldn’t trust them with my money. Their website has statements like “our bank is a member of a well-known international card association which operates a world-wide network of ATMs” without naming the network which indicates to me that perhaps they are not authorized to be issuing these cards. If anything goes wrong, expect to simply lose your money. Also, by opening an account like this you are leaving a paper trail that could be used to prove that you spent money in Cuba.

Unfortunately for Americans traveling to Cuba, the only realistic way to bring money is in cash (Euros get a better rate then dollars which have extra fees). Traveler’s checks are also a possibility as some banks have been exchanging them (even American Express checks in US dollars), but this can be a hassle and will probably only work in Havana. I would use them only as a backup because of the hassle and also because the situation can change and I wouldn’t want to be stuck if it turns out to be impossible to exchange them.

Updated: As if to prove my point, the Amigo Travel Club site that I linked to appears to be gone now (August 2013) and the domain is for sale. Caveat emptor!

Credit:stackoverflow.com‘

About me

Hello,My name is Aparna Patel,I’m a Travel Blogger and Photographer who travel the world full-time with my hubby.I like to share my travel experience.

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