I’m just back from Cuba so here is the latest…
Monzo beta pre-paid card worked fine in various ATM machines in Habana, Trinidad, Cienfuegos and Camaguey. You do need to enable magstripe use.
However, it didn’t work in some of those same machines on other occasions. As a check, I tried an alternative visa debit card in the same machine and on two occasions it did not work either. Conclusion: the machine had run out of cash…
The bank I visited could accept the alternative visa card for processing but told me that the Monzo mastercard could only be processed in an ATM.
Finally, I could not get any ATM to give me more than $100 (Cuban Convertible Pesos CUCs) on any one transaction. It did give me a second tranche of 100 immediately when I repeated the process.
Sunday evening in the old town of Habana proved particulalry challenging. All four of the ATM locations rejected my cards, both Monzo and Visa. They must have run out of cash.
My general conclusion is do not rely absolutely on ATMs but ensure you keep a reserve of cash. Effectively I did rely in Monzo for most of my cash needs for the best part of two weeks in Habana and three other towns.
Very few restaurants or stores accept cards as payment. When purchasing 25 very expensive cigars for a cousin who actually smokes the things… after a little bit of persuasion, they did accept a visa vard. Monzo rejected.