Cuban comedian Otto Ortiz has voiced sharp criticism of the island's banking system, highlighting its inefficiency even in processing fines. In a Facebook post, Ortiz shared an incident from October 10 when he was fined. By November 8, just before the deadline, he still couldn't pay the fine through Transfermóvil, the state-run digital payment app, because the violation "had not been processed in the system."
Ortiz warned that if he didn't pay the fine in cash by the upcoming Saturday, he would incur an additional charge: "If I don't pay it tomorrow, in cash, they'll add a surcharge for not paying on time. This is madness. It would be good if the relevant authorities, and even the irrelevant ones, spoke out about this," he stated.
"Don't fool yourselves any longer; the banking system doesn't work and strikes us hard," Ortiz declared.
Flawed Implementation of Banking Policy
Cuba's banking initiative, officially approved in January to reduce cash usage and encourage electronic payment methods, is plagued by resource shortages, rendering it dysfunctional and frequently frustrating for the public.
In a different incident, Ortiz shared his frustration at a Havana gas station where he waited five hours to refuel, only to leave empty-handed due to persistent system connectivity issues.
Public Outcry Over System Failures
The policy has sparked widespread complaints among the population, primarily due to inadequate infrastructure and frequent connectivity problems that hinder transactions, reflecting a broader issue in the country's attempt to modernize its financial system.