A total of 12 establishments opened their doors in Cuba to capture foreign currency
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According to official sources, 12 stores are located in the Cuban capital and another in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba, although the plan is to reach 77 in the coming weeks.
In the centers will be sold, at cheaper prices, from large format televisions, high-end refrigerators and washing machines, electric motorcycles and car components.
To purchase these products you will have to open accounts denominated in U.S. dollars, associated with magnetic cards, although it is also possible to make deposits in euros, pounds sterling, Canadian dollars, Swiss francs, Mexican pesos, Danish, Norwegian or Swedish kroner and Japanese yen.
The vice president of Banco Metropolitano, Marina Torres, explained days ago that some 10,000 people opened accounts for this modality, from which 13 percent made cash deposits.
The initiative is part of a group of measures announced last month by Cuban Vice President Salvador Valdes to boost trade and prevent capital loss.
He pointed out that the objective is to order the import of goods for non-commercial purposes, which many Cubans acquire abroad and then sell in the country.
"The money that is going out to acquire these products is estimated in significant numbers, and we must capture it as a source of foreign exchange to replenish our industry and store chains," he said.
In addition, individuals will be allowed to import certain products through state-owned companies. These actions seek to boost the national economy, which faces several challenges.
"We have listed the main economic problems that begin with the high level of indebtedness, insufficient income from exports, debts receivable and the predominance of an import mentality that accommodates and attempts against initiative and creativity (...) and also the poor level of savings," said recently President Miguel Diaz-Canel.
Added to this are the effects of the U.S. blockade and the punitive policy of President Donald Trump, which include limiting remittances, prohibiting cruise ship trips, and prosecuting oil tankers that transport crude oil to the country.