CRWG Seventeen Company Members
CRWG Focus: How To Move Remittances And How To Use Remittances
Does CRWG Want To Craft Solutions Or Look Like It Has Crafted Solutions?
Independent Cuba Businesses Need Remittance Infrastructure
Eight Cuba Entities Need Be Invited Into Decision Process
For Success, CRWG Solution Need Not Be Zero-Sum For Cuba Government

If issues relating to the Republic of Cuba have for the Biden-Harris Administration (2021- ) shifted from “not a priority” to “a priority” and the process for delivering electric remittance transfers and uses for those delivered electronic remittance transfers from the United States to the Republic of Cuba are essential to the implementation of Biden-Harris Administration policies focusing upon the Republic of Cuba, then the Cuba Remittance Working Group (CRWG) whose membership is convened by the United States Department of State must be focused first towards operational issues rather than political issues.

The Biden-Harris Administration will err if the CRWG composition is focused upon individuals of Cuban descent, academics, and those like-minded and serve practically solely to reinforce opinions of those within and supporting the Biden-Harris Administration. Pointless for the CRWG to be a forum for grievances, academic discourse, and lamenting as to what should be rather than what is doable.

The focus should be: What are companies and financial institutions in the United States and the Republic of Cuba engaged in the delivery and distribution process and in the uses of delivered remittances prepared now to do and what regulations need to be changed.

Crafting a politically-attractive recommendation that is not viable, implementable, or sustainable does nothing to solve the problem.

The CRWG should include employees of the United States Government, but not be where careerists and political appointees discuss amongst themselves what they have heard from others and then craft recommendations. The CRWG process needs to include representatives from financial institutions and companies who make operational decisions.

Required Answer: How electronic remittance transfers can support the oft-stated component of Biden-Harris Administration thinking about the Republic of Cuba: Benefit cuentapropistas (self-employed), non-government-controlled cooperatives, and re-emerging independent small and medium-size enterprises (SME’s) and do so through direct investment and direct financing.

Representatives of Republic of Cuba government-operated entities should be included in the CRWG- and if not possible to provide visas for a visit to the United States, then certainly invited to participate in Internet-based meetings. Like it or not, they are a necessary component for a sustainable result.

A schedule is essential, an end-date by which a recommendation(s) from the CRWG will be delivered to the Inter-Agency Review Group consisting of representatives from The White House, United States Department of State, United States Department of the Treasury, United States Department of Commerce, United States Department of Defense, United States Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and Central Intelligence Agency.

Is the goal of the CRWG to forge a solution(s) acceptable for the political moment, to get through the political moment, or be consequential in terms of creating an implementable sustainable operational blueprint?

For the CRWG to craft a recommendation(s), precedence need be about what changes companies and financial institutions require from United States regulations impacting electronic remittance transfers and the uses for those electronic remittance transfers.

This knowledge is most efficiently gained from executives within the companies and financial institutions who have been, and are needed now to be participants in the process:

CRWG Member Recommendations
(alphabetical order)

Seattle, Washington-based Amazon, Inc.
San Juan, Puerto Rico-based Banco Popular
Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America
New York, New York-based Citibank
Denver, Colorado-based CoBank
Riverwoods, Illinois-based Discover Financial Services
Conway, Arkansas-based Home BancShares
New York, New York-based JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Purchase, New York-based Mastercard International
Dallas, Texas-based MoneyGram International
Pompano Beach, Florida-based Natbank
San Jose, California-based PayPal Holdings
Florida-based Publix Super Markets
Miami, Florida-based Va-Cuba, Inc.
Foster City, California-based Visa, Inc.
San Francisco, California-based Wells Fargo
Denver, Colorado-based Western Union Company

Republic Of Cuba-Based Financial Institutions
(alphabetical order)

American International Services S.A. (AIS)
Banco de Crédito y Comercio S.A. (BANDEC)
Banco Financiero Internacional S.A. (BFI)
Banco Internacional de Comercio S.A. (BICSA)
Banco Metropolitano S.A. (BM)
Banco Popular de Ahorro S.A. (BPA)
Central Bank Of Cuba
Financiera Cimex S.A. (Fincimex)