Cuban peso

Categories: Currencies of the Americas | Economy of Cuba

The Cuban peso (ISO 4217 code: CUP) is one of two official currencies in use in Cuba. It has no official value outside the country, and is used almost exclusively by residents; for many years, the United States dollar (USD) has been used by tourists and for more 'luxury' items, but this is now being replaced with the Cuban convertible peso (CUC). As of March 2005, there were 25 Cuban pesos to 1 Cuban convertible peso, which is equivalent to 1 US dollar. Coins in circulation are 1, 2, 5, 20 & 40 centavos and 1 and 3 pesos. Banknotes in circulation are 1, 3, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 pesos.

Two parallel currencies

The main currency for local citizens, used mainly for buying essential products such as food-stuffs, is the Cuban peso. This currency has no official international value, so to encourage hard currency to enter the economy after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the subsequent contraction of the Cuban economy, the US dollar was made legal tender in 1993.

The dollar became the currency used to purchase some non-essential goods and services, such as cosmetics, and even non-staple kind of food and drink. Cuban state workers recieve a small portion of their wages in cuban convertible peso, the rest in the Cuban peso. Shops selling basics, like fruit and vegetables, generally only accept the Cuban peso, while "dollar shops" sell the rest. Confusingly, dollars are sometimes referred to colloquially as "pesos", with which currency is meant being understood from the context.

External links

• Banco Central de Cuba - in English.

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Currencies of The Americas
North	Bermuda dollar | Canadian dollar | Danish krone (Greenland) | Euro (Saint-Pierre et Miquelon) | Mexican peso | US dollar
Central	Belize dollar | Costa Rican colón | Guatemalan quetzal | Honduran lempira | Nicaraguan córdoba | Panamanian balboa | US dollar (El Salvador)
Caribbean	Aruban florin | Bahamian dollar | Barbadian dollar | Cayman dollar | Cuban peso | Cuban convertible peso | Dominican peso | East Caribbean dollar | Euro (Guadeloupe, Martinique) | Haitian gourde | Jamaican dollar | Netherlands Antilles florin | Trinidad and Tobago dollar
South	Argentine peso | Bolivian boliviano | Brazilian real | Chilean peso | Colombian peso | Euro (French Guiana) | Falkland pound | Guyanese dollar | Paraguayan guaraní | Peruvian nuevo sol | Suriname dollar | US dollar (Ecuador) | Uruguayan peso | Venezuelan bolívar </table>

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