Cuba Targets Foreign Currency E-Commerce With New Regulations

New rules require online stores to register with state, route revenue through Cuban banks

Published on Feb. 26, 2026

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The Cuban government has published Agreement 10216, a regulation targeting all e-commerce platforms operating with foreign currency payments. The agreement requires platforms to register with state registries, submit to full tax supervision, and route all revenue to Cuban banks, effectively giving the regime control over the flow of foreign currency through these online stores.

Why it matters

For years, the Cuban diaspora has relied on these e-commerce platforms to send food, medicine, and basic goods to their families on the island. The government views this as a significant flow of foreign currency circulating outside of its control, and the new regulations are an attempt to capture that revenue.

The details

The agreement stipulates that the Central Bank of Cuba will decide who can receive payments from abroad, giving the regime control over who operates and who does not. It also prohibits the sale of goods to foreign entities for resale to beneficiaries in Cuba, attacking the business model of most platforms operating from outside the island. Additionally, the platforms must comply with cybersecurity regulations from the Ministry of the Interior, effectively handing over transaction data and personal information of customers to the regime's repressive apparatus.

  • The agreement was adopted on August 27, 2025, but wasn't published in the Gaceta Oficial until February 25, 2026.
  • The agreement will come into effect 60 days after its publication, around April 26, 2026.
  • Those already operating will have an additional 30 days to comply with the new requirements once the Central Bank issues supplementary provisions.

The players

Cuban Council of Ministers

The Cuban government body that published Agreement 10216.

Central Bank of Cuba

The institution that will decide who can receive payments from abroad and control the flow of foreign currency through these online stores.

Ministry of the Interior (MININT)

The Cuban regime's repressive apparatus that will receive transaction data and personal information of customers under the new cybersecurity regulations.

E-commerce platforms

Platforms like SuperMarket23, Cuballama, Cubamax, DimeCuba, Cubatel Market, MallHabana, EnviosCuba, and CompreMarket, among others, that are directly threatened by the new regulatory framework.

Cuban diaspora

Families abroad who have relied on these e-commerce platforms to send goods to their loved ones in Cuba.

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What’s next

The key question is whether platforms operating from abroad will submit to these demands or seek ways to continue operating outside of state control.

The takeaway

This agreement demonstrates the Cuban regime's efforts to regain control over the flow of foreign currency that has been circulating through independent e-commerce platforms, highlighting the government's economic desperation and its willingness to resort to restrictive measures that could violate international laws and sanctions.