In a surprising turn of events, a private bar in the El Uno neighborhood of Amancio, located in the Las Tunas province, has stepped in to serve as a pension payment center, shifting a role traditionally held by banking institutions to self-employed workers.
Initially, five self-employed workers have taken on the responsibility of distributing pension payments to over 40 retirees, as reported by the official newspaper 26 this past Friday.
The plan aims to save elderly citizens from traveling long distances and enduring lengthy waits at banks to collect their funds, according to the Communist Party's publication in the eastern region.
Everardo Suárez Báez, who owns a bar in the El Uno area, is among the private sector workers participating in this effort. He serves ten retirees, managing payments that exceed 50,000 pesos.
"These pensions are usually quite substantial; one of them is over 8,000 pesos. People are very grateful for this State-approved measure," Suárez shared, also highlighting the role of these new economic players in the community.
Throughout this month, Suárez has been managing the pension payments for his assigned retirees from his establishment.
Beneficiaries Luisa and Humberto expressed their gratitude for the new system, appreciative of both the government and the participating private worker. They noted that they can now receive their pensions without having to endure long walks or extensive queues.
This initiative allows a private establishment to function as a pension payment site while authorities aim to alleviate bank congestion and bring this service closer to communities.
The situation highlights how private workers are being integrated into roles meant to ensure essential services for retirees. What the official media touts as a "high-impact social achievement" is, in reality, a direct result of the Cuban state banking system's collapse.
More than 50% of the nation's ATMs are out of service or empty, forcing retirees to wait in long lines for pensions that, at their minimum, are worth less than $10 on the informal exchange market.
The scenario in Amancio is part of a nationwide model formalized by the Cuban Central Bank on July 17, among 176 emergency economic measures.
Starting as a pilot program in April across four Havana municipalities, the initiative has gradually expanded to other provinces.
In Guantánamo, 113 private businesses are already operating under this scheme, handling payments for over 3,000 retirees. Oscar Mendoza Pérez, the provincial director of Work and Social Security, admitted that the number "remains insufficient" and aims for 70% of the 68,000 retirees in Cuba's easternmost province to receive payments this way.
While marketed as voluntary, the scheme has coercive undertones. Yuder Ortiz González, Bandec's deputy accounting director in Guantánamo, made it clear.
"It's different for someone who becomes a financial agent, assisting the bank with payments, compared to someone who does nothing. All these considerations will be taken into account when interacting with an economic actor," he explained.
Economist Elías Amor criticized the mechanism as "madness," warning that if a business lacks funds on payday, the regime could use it as an excuse to shut it down. "Imagine a pensioner arrives on the 1st to collect their pension, but you've had a bad month selling food," he pointed out.
The paradox lies in the regime's demand for private businesses to accept electronic transfers under threat of fines and closures, while also assigning them to distribute the cash that state banks lack.
Cuba has over 1.7 million retirees, with a minimum pension of 4,000 pesos per month, compared to a basic basket costing over 30,000 pesos per person.
In early July, Guantánamo's official newspaper, Venceremos, acknowledged that the banking crisis "has ceased to be a banking problem and has become a social issue."
The National Assembly of People's Power has instructed the government and the Cuban Central Bank to implement new measures to enhance banking services for the population, through Agreement X-171, approved on July 29 and published in the Official Gazette No. 67 Ordinary of 2026.
Understanding Cuba's Pension Payment Challenges
Why did a private bar in Amancio start processing pension payments?
The private bar in Amancio began handling pension payments due to the failure of the state banking system, which left many retirees without adequate access to their funds.
What is the impact of the "Caja Extra" model in Cuba?
The "Caja Extra" model aims to alleviate the pressure on state banks by involving private businesses in pension distribution. However, it highlights systemic issues in the Cuban economy, including the reliance on self-employed workers to fulfill state responsibilities.