Guantanamo.- The provincial office of Banco de Crédito y Comercio (BANDEC, in Spahish abbreviation), in Guantánamo Province, is promoting a notable information-communications openness during summer season, as part of a strategy for financial literacy, in compliance with banking secrecy and the provisions of Cuban Law 149 for the protection of personal data.
Miguel Gutiérrez Alejo, BANDEC’s communications and marketing specialists, told CMKS that this month, training courses for economic stakeholders, workshops for female entrepreneurs coordinated with the Federation of Cuban Women in the province, and a contest for the children of employees in the banking network will be offered.
These scenarios are expected to enhance users’ financial education, promoting economic savings at various levels, personal financial planning, and smart investments for medium- and long-term benefits through projects or capital goods.
Miguel Gutiérrez also said that the provincial management of BANDEC is monitoring the development of banking access in the region, from its 16 branches, through which he urged the direct deposit of state payrolls, the opening of bank accounts for tax purposes, as well as the use of digital payment gateways and reducing cash use.
Likewise, the program promotes the use of other “electronic banking” products, the maintenance of the few ATMs in the capital municipality, methodological support for businesses, and prioritizing cash deposits.
Related to this last aspect, the Minister of Economy and Planning in Cuba, Joaquín Alonso Vázquez, recently explained to representatives of the National Association of Economists and Accountants of Cuba (ANEC by its Spanish acronym) that “10 percent of the population holds 60 percent of the cash outside the banking system, while 2 percent of savings account holders hold more than 50 percent of the bank balances, and this affects the solvent capacity to purchase foreign currency” on the market.
