Cuban peso


The Cuban peso also known as moneda nacional, is the official currency of Cuba.
The Cuban peso was established by a Cuban law on October 29, 1914. It began circulating in 1915 at parity with the U.S. dollar until 1959–1960. The Castro government then introduced the socialist planned economy and pegged the peso to the Soviet ruble.
The Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 resulted in what the Castro government called a "Special Period" of difficult economic adjustments for Cuba. From 1994 to 2020 the Cuban peso co-circulated with the Cuban convertible peso, which was convertible to and fixed against the U.S. dollar, and which was generally available to the public at a rate of US$1 = CUC 1 = CUP 25. State enterprises under the socialist planned economy, though, were entitled to exchange CUPs into CUCs and U.S. dollars at the official, subsidized rate of US$1 = CUC 1 = CUP 1, within prescribed limits.
From 1 January 2021, Cuba implemented the so-called "Day Zero" of monetary unification, which abolished the Cuban convertible peso as well as the 1 CUP/USD rate for state enterprises. Henceforth the Cuban Peso became the only legal tender in Cuba, CUCs were converted at the rate of 24 CUP/CUC, and a single official exchange rate of 24 CUP/USD became applicable for both public and private transactions. However, demand for hard currency made these exchange rates unavailable in the informal market, where US$1 is worth over 450 CUP as of 2025.

History

Before 1994

Before 1857, Spanish and Spanish colonial reales circulated in Cuba. From 1857, banknotes were issued specifically for use on Cuba. These were denominated in pesos, with each peso worth 8 reales. From 1869, decimal notes were also issued denominated in centavos, with 100 centavos for each Spanish peso. The Republic of Cuba did not have its own currency until 1915, when the first coins of Cuban peso were minted; the first banknotes were issued in 1935. The Cuban peso and the US dollar had the same value from 1915 to 1959–1960.
In 1960, the peso lost value after the United States imposed an embargo against Cuba and the suspended sugar quota. Fidel Castro then introduced the socialist planned economy to Cuba with the Soviet Union as its new economic partner, and the Cuban peso was pegged to the Soviet ruble at the same exchange rate as with the US dollar.
Foreign exchange was a government monopoly under the socialist planned economy and could not be bought by the general public using Cuban pesos. Foreign currencies were therefore exchanged for coins of the Instituto Nacional de Turismo from 1981 to 1989 and for foreign exchange certificates of the Banco Nacional de Cuba from 1985. These coins or certificates were then used by visitors to buy some luxury goods not available for purchase in the national currency.

CUP and CUC, 1994-2020

The Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 resulted in a difficult Special Period of economic adjustments which required the acquisition of foreign exchange in order to pay for petroleum and other imported goods which used to be easily procured from Cuba's former benefactor. In 1993, the U.S. dollar was made legal tender to encourage much-needed hard currency to enter the economy, and the Cuban peso lost much of its value with its free market exchange rate plunging to as low as 125 CUP/USD.
In 1994 the Cuban convertible peso was introduced at par with the US dollar and circulated alongside it. Partial revival of economic confidence then stabilized the Cuban peso to 23-25 CUPs to the CUC or USD, leading to the eventual fixing of exchange rates to US$1 = CUC 1 = CUP 25, which was available to the public from 2004 to 2005 and then from 2011-2020 through Cadecas.
In 2004, the CUC replaced the U.S. dollar as a legal tender. The CUC was pegged to the dollar. From 2004 to 2020 a 10% penalty or tax was applied when changing U.S. dollars to CUCs, which can be avoided by exchanging other currencies in Cadecas.
The revival of economic stability after the Special Period from 2000, however, also made possible the revival of features of the socialist planned economy, which involved the distribution of subsidized goods to the public, supported by a system of artificially pegged exchange rates; for instance:
  • State-owned businesses earned and spent foreign exchange at the artificial or subsidized "official rate" of US$1 = CUC 1 = CUP 1.
  • In turn, this made possible the sales of rationed goods to the public who earned salaries in the order of CUP 500 a month.
  • Furthermore, the government also set different exchange rates for different enterprises.
  • Cuban state employees were paid with basic salaries in CUPs, plus performance-based bonuses in CUCs.
Among the effects of this complicated system of exchange rates and subsidies were as follows:
  • State companies were dis-incentivized from earning foreign exchange, but the public was incentivized to spend on subsidized imported goods.
  • The CUC did not really have a firm backing in convertible currencies, as it can be easily printed to pay state companies and employees. Hence, neither CUC nor CUP was traded internationally, and their import and export is prohibited, so neither could be bought in advance outside Cuba.
  • The Cuban economy was described as "dual-track", with the majority of citizens earning only CUPs and dependent on subsidized goods from ration stores, and with a minority earning much bigger salaries in CUCs and foreign exchange by catering to tourists.
  • Shops and services were also "dual-track", with rationed goods sold in CUPs, imported or non-essential goods in CUCs, and locations aimed at foreign tourists charging CUC prices much higher than CUP prices paid by Cubans.
  • The system where U.S. dollars were worth CUP 1, CUP 10 or CUP 25 created substantial rent-seeking arbitrage opportunities and incentives to game the system for illicit profits.
This complicated system of multi-track exchange rates and markets, and the inequalities and rent-seeking it spawned, had long been a source of frustration alike to government bureaucrats and to a disgruntled public. In October 2013, the government announced its intention to abolish this multiple exchange rate system and to phase out the CUC. While detailed preparations and new rules were underway, many businesses started to accept both CUPs and CUCs at the rate of CUC 1 = CUP 25, and higher-value banknotes of CUP 200, 500 and 1000 were introduced. Fears over its financial fallout on state companies, however, delayed the "Day Zero" implementation of monetary unification by several years, until the drying up of foreign exchange reserves in 2020 due to the absence of tourists during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns made the further sale of subsidized dollars and goods unaffordable to the state.

Monetary unification, 2021

On 10 December 2020, it was announced that "Day Zero" of monetary unification would occur on 1 January 2021, with a single official exchange rate of 24 CUP/USD applying to state companies and private individuals alike, and with the Cuban Convertible Peso to be retired and exchanged at the rate of 24 CUP/CUC until the end of 2021.
While technically described as a devaluation from the official 1 CUP/USD used in government and state business books, for the public it was viewed as state enterprises merely catching up to the reality of 24 CUP/USD that had always existed in the private sector.

Inflation

During 2021, due to a shortage in foreign currency, it became difficult or impossible for private individuals and businesses to exchange CUP for hard currency at the official exchange rate of 24 CUP/USD. Demand for hard currency drove a black market in currency exchange, with US$1 being worth around 100 CUP by January 2022. The price of the dollar continued to increase over the following years, reaching 200 CUP in October 2022, 300 CUP in February 2024, and 400 CUP in August 2025.
On December 18, 2025, Cuba introduced another official exchange rate, which started at 410 CUP/USD. It is a managed float exchange rate set much closer to the black market exchange rate.

Coins

Before 1959

In 1897 and 1898, pesos were issued by revolutionary forces promoting independence. In 1915, cupro-nickel 1, 2 and 5 centavos, silver 10, 20 and 40 centavos and 1 peso, and gold 1, 2, 4, 5, 10 and 20 peso coins were introduced. These coins were designed by Charles E. Barber, who also designed the Barber dimes, quarters, half-dollars for the US. The coins were minted at the US mint at Philadelphia. The gold coins and 2 centavos were not produced after 1916, with the large star design 1 peso ceasing production in 1934. A new silver peso showing a woman, representing the Cuban Republic, beneath a star was issued from 1934 to 1939. Finally, a centennial of Jose Marti commemorative peso was produced in 1953.
Brass 1 and 5 centavos were issued in 1943, and with copper nickel composition sporadically from 1915 to 1958. Beginning in 1915, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 40 centavos coins were occasionally minted. The last 10, 20, and 40 centavo coins were produced in 1952; these were commemorative issues celebrating the fiftieth year of the republic. As mentioned above, in 1953, silver 25 and 50 centavos commemorative coins were also issued. These were the last silver coins issued for circulation. The last US produced coin was the 1961 five centavo piece.

After 1959

In 1962, cupro-nickel 20 and 40 centavos were introduced, followed, in 1963, by aluminium 1 and 5 centavos. In 1969, aluminium 20 centavos were introduced, followed by aluminium 2 centavos and brass 1 peso in 1983. Cupro-nickel 3 peso coins were introduced in 1990, with brass-plated-steel 1 peso and nickel-clad-steel 3 peso coins following in 1992. 40 centavo coins were withdrawn from circulation around July 2004 and are no longer accepted as payment. In 2017, the Banco Central de Cuba introduced bi-metallic 5 pesos coin. Coins currently in common circulation are 5 and 20 centavos and 1, 3 and 5 pesos; 1 and 2 centavo coins are rarely seen but are still valid.