In case itās of interest, Iāve just read that Visa cards work in ATMs but with a Mastercard you have to go inside to the teller. (https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Travel-g147270-c109329/Cuba:Caribbean:Money.Exchange.html)
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Iām going to Cuba in a couple of weeks and have researched it alot and feel optimistic, as far as I know thereās no affiliation with US banks so the Mastercard should be fine for both banks (but you have to go inside, it wonāt work in an ATM), and transactions. Iāll let you know in a few weeksā¦!
Hi! Iāve actually been and gone to Cuba and monzo worked fine in ATMs - you just need to enable the magstripe function in settings each time you need to use it. But then itās fine! Have an awesome time.
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Thanks for this, Alex - Iām off to 
in a few weeks and had been wondering if Iād be able to rely on my 
at all! Whereabouts were you travelling - mainly Havana, or further afield? Were you purely using for 
withdrawals? Any experience with Chip and PIN/POS transactions?
Hi Ned. I didnāt use my card for anything other than ATMs - from my experience most places in Cuba only really take cash! We went to Havana, ViƱales and Trinidad. All three had ATMs that worked fine, as long as the magstripe was enabled in your Monzo app. It only turns on for 24 hours once activated so you need to make sure you do this beforehand if you want/need cash more than once. Most ATMs are located near the wifi hotspots in each city (you can by wifi cards from shops or from people on the street for between 2 and 3 CUC) so you can activate the magstripe then and use an ATM.
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Hi all,
Off to Cuba in a few months and wondering what the status of Cuba and Monzo is, Iāve read the above and clearly things have changed quite a bit. Does the full current account make any difference to the prepaid? Is it just this magistripe thing that needs enabling? Should I take another card?
Does anyone know the current status of Monzo in Cuba basically?
Thank you in advance.
Hi Justin,
While our full upgraded account in general will have far less acceptance issues than the prepaid, a lot of the issues in Cuba (as I understand the situation) are to do with poor Mastercard acceptance in general, or even just poor card acceptance.
For Cuba, the most practical advice is to have two cards - ideally one Mastercard and one VISA, and also having cash with you just in case.
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I was in Cuba over Christmas ā I found my Monzo worked well in ATMs (with magstripe mode on), but it didnāt work as a cash advance at the hotel. I tried it at Hotel Nacional in Havana, but I guess itād be the same elsewhere. I didnāt run into any vendors or businesses that would take any sort of card, so making sure to carry cash is key.
Hi @anon87726072 given Simonās recommendation Iād suggest seeing if you can get the Barclaycard Platinum Travel card for a fall back, as itās one of the few-fee free visa travel cards. 
Have just come back from 2 weeks in Cubaā¦frustrating to say the least. Card wasnāt accepted at any card machines, and ATM withdrawals was a bit of a nightmare. It eventually worked but after accepting then declining my card (with mag stripe enabled), so I had to take out money in bits. And then was charged in dollars anyway.
Monzo, as an added tip for Cuba, it might be worth having your conversion rate shown in CUC, instead of CUP. No banks allow foreigners to withdraw in CUP (and pretty much all places with a card will be charging in CUC), so why have the Ā£ to CUP conversion rate showing? Itās completely pointless. Especially as the ATMs charge in USD, so that would even be a better conversion rate to show.
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I also just got back from Cuba and was unable to use Monzo for purchases when a Halifax issued Visa worked ok (with Ā£8 transaction fee of course 
). Did not try ATM.
I would advise taking cash (not USD) and at least two cards.
Some people I had spoken to had managed to exchange CUC to ānormalā peso at the bank in Holguin city so I donāt think there is a blanket ban on non-locals using CUP, it is just difficult to obtain.
You can transfer CUC to CUP at a bank (we did it as well) but you canāt withdraw CUP from an ATM or pay on a card machine with CUP. Therefore, having Monzo show me the Ā£ to CUP rate is completely pointless as Iāll never need that exchange rate using a Monzo card.
Iām not planning to go back to Cuba any time soon (loved it though!) so it doesnāt matter to me, but Iām sure itād help other visitors to show the Ā£ to CUC rate instead (or potentially also the USD rate as well).
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There is a cash machine in Old Havana that worked for me!
Itās on the corner of Calle teniente Rey and Calle Cuba.
I expect other machines in Old Havana work too! It seems, because people arenāt very good at being nice to each other, MasterCard was blocked by Cuba some years ago. The ban was lifted in 2015, but, because Cubans have better things to do, most ATM and payment systems donāt seem to have been updated. Thatās fair, I would do the same if I were Cuban.
I discovered this at the airport, where no ATMs would so much as give me a sympathetic shrug. After a couple of hours I ended up persuading an Australian couple to let me squeeze into their cab. I hope I didnāt ruin what looked like the start of their honeymoon.
This happened with all ATMs I found in the city on Tuesday and Wednesday. I swapped my trumpet for two hours of internet to try and get it sorted out. I found a casa particular and the nice cubanos there lent me a little cash. I spoke to Monzo who were tres helpful but there wasnāt a lot that they could do.
On Wednesday I went to the embassy and got some money sent through from UK from a friend. You can do this, but it takes 48 hours. The UK embassy is in Miramar, Calle 34 no 702.
Today I was strolling along with my dry bread and wet water in Havana Viejo, when I saw a cash machine with the MasterCard logo on it. I thought Iād take a shot. This ATM must have been blessed by the nourishing tongue of Queen Elizabeth herself, because in no time at all, out popped some sweet sweet CUCs! This was after trying at least ten other machines in other parts of the city.
I have now bought back the trumpet.
Moral: donāt rely on modern technology in Cuba. In case of need, however, Old Havana might be your answer.
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Best travel review ever! 
(I was concerned about the trumpet being gone forever)
Because MasterCard blocked use of their cards in Cuba! All to do with US politics and trade embargos and not to do with the actions of the Cubans.
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Hello my little Monzicles: an update on my voyage!! One that may shock and perhaps sadden!!!
After a debit card debacle and finally finding a working cash machine, I, at various stages, tried a couple of other ATMs. There was one in Trinidad that worked. I thought this was surprising and maybe suspiciousā¦
I was back at the airport today and confronted the cruel cash machine that had wronged me last week. I guess the little urchin has repented, as now it worked with no problems.
This means a number of things. Firstly, the world is a dark and mysterious place. Secondly, the above advice of old Havana may not be accurate, and actually the solution to getting a cash machine to work may be hidden under several layers of dense riddles. I have no idea why this machine suddenly started working, after having definitely not done a week ago. Magstripe was always enabled, and I was never extracting outrageous quantities of hot gold. Did MasterCard just happen to become better at Cuba transactions in the week that I was here? I doubt it.
So, as an update, the only suggestion that I can make is to offer frequent offerings to Cthulhu or the deity of your choice, on the offchance that They will swoop down and detangle your Cuban debacle.
Best of luck.
xoxoxox
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In Havana right now and my Monzo card, with mag stripe enabled, worked in the ATM found on Paseo de Marti, just up from Parque Central. Went early (8:30am) and had no trouble.
Just returned from 7 weeks in Cuba. Almost exclusively used my Monzo card. I asked for magstripe to be turned on long term before I left for Cuba but Iām not convinced this was done as it was off in my settings when I returned. However, I had no real problems. The card didnāt work inside the cadecas but ATMs worked fine. I could only get 150CUC max at a time but could just do several transactions one after the other. This worked on all ATMs I tried in Havana and Santiago. I didnāt try to use my card in any shops.
I would advise people to take as much of their money in cash (GBP/euro) as possible, as you get a much better rate - ATM transactions are charged in USD which has a poorer rate for CUC than GBP or EUR, especially if you are being charged 3% by Monzo. I was essentially getting 1.23 CUC per GBP instead of the 1.29 if changing cash
I can confirm that having returned from Cuba today 12/08/2019 that the card is not accepted so take additional means of payment. I tried the card twice once to pay for an activity and another at cash exchange both times declined. I was informed it was nothing to do with lack of funds or authorisation issues just that the card itās self is not accepted
I had similar issues - in Cuba turn the Magnetic Strip on. Then it works, also around mid nite the Cuban ATM/Cash points run settlements (Old technology, due to USA embargo, the processing needs to run overnight) and re-open processing at 6 am, how do I know this? I was out partying with some Cuban friends and we wanted some CUC Cash for the VIP room, at around mid nite we had to wait til around 6am - Luckily people party late in Havana, so it worked out.
Also Vedado is where its for ATM Cashpoints, multiple Banks and easy access, and remember - there is no party like a Havana party, left a lasting impression to put it mildly thanks to Monzo!