分类： business

Travelers and businesses planning financial activity in Cuba are facing a major shift in payment options, as all Visa and Mastercard branded cards are no longer accepted for transactions across the country. The change stems from a recent United States Executive Order signed into effect on May 1, 2026, which has triggered operational restrictions for the international financial partner that previously handled all credit card processing for Cuban financial institutions.

After the new executive order entered force, Cuba’s Central Bank issued a formal notification confirming that the third-party processing partner has significantly scaled back its operations in the jurisdiction, leaving no infrastructure to support Visa and Mastercard transactions. This suspension applies to all card types issued by the Eastern Caribbean Amalgamated Bank (ECAB) and other issuing institutions, including standard credit cards, debit cards linked to personal checking accounts, and prepaid cards loaded for travel.

ECAB and other card-issuing institutions have issued urgent advisories to their customer bases urging anyone with upcoming travel or business plans in Cuba to arrange alternative payment methods well in advance of their departure. Financial leaders note that failing to prepare alternate payment options could lead to significant disruptions to travel plans, business operations, and daily purchases during a stay in Cuba.

In their advisory, bank management apologized for the unplanned disruption this policy change creates for cardholders, emphasizing that the suspension is a result of external regulatory changes outside of the issuing bank’s control. They expressed gratitude for customers’ patience and understanding as the global financial system adjusts to the new policy framework. Customers with questions about the change or concerns about upcoming travel are encouraged to reach out to their bank’s customer support team for further guidance.

A proposed $1.8 billion merger between the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) and Butterfield Bank has sparked urgent calls from UNI Global Union, the global federation representing service sector workers, for immediate stakeholder talks over mounting concerns about job security and working conditions for frontline employees.

The merger, which would combine CIBC’s Caribbean banking operations with Butterfield’s existing regional footprint, has been framed by company leadership as a strategic move to strengthen market competitiveness, expand service offerings, and drive long-term growth in the Caribbean financial sector. But labor advocates have warned that industry consolidation of this scale almost always brings sweeping restructuring that puts hundreds of roles at risk, while potentially eroding existing collective bargaining agreements and worker benefits.

UNI Global Union, which represents more than 15 million workers across 150 countries, has emphasized that it is not opposing the merger outright. Instead, the organization is pushing for binding, good-faith talks between union leadership, CIBC, Butterfield, and relevant regulatory bodies to address worker concerns before any deal is finalized. The federation is calling for clear guarantees that existing jobs will be protected, that collective bargaining rights will be preserved for all staff across the combined entity, and that any future restructuring processes will be carried out with full transparency and input from labor representatives.

Regional labor groups have echoed these demands, noting that the Caribbean banking sector has already faced a wave of consolidation in recent years that has led to widespread layoffs and reduced access to local banking services in smaller communities. UNI Global Union says that without proactive negotiation, the merger risks repeating these harms, leaving frontline workers bearing the brunt of corporate restructuring while executive leadership and shareholders capture the financial benefits of the deal.

Regulators in Canada and the Caribbean are currently reviewing the proposed merger to assess its compliance with local financial regulations and competition rules. UNI Global Union is also calling on regulators to require labor impact assessments as part of their approval process, arguing that protecting worker livelihoods should be a core consideration when evaluating whether large corporate mergers are in the public interest.

Consumers across Antigua and Barbuda are on the cusp of a long-awaited shakeup to the country’s telecommunications market, as the government confirms a July rollout for mobile number portability — a policy that will let mobile users switch between local service providers without surrendering their existing phone numbers.

When fully implemented, the reform will extend number portability rights to customers of the nation’s three major mobile and internet providers: Flow, Digicel, and APUA Inet. Officials argue that eliminating the requirement to change phone numbers when switching networks will deliver tangible benefits to consumers, unlocking greater choice for users and injecting healthier competition into a relatively concentrated local telecommunications sector.

Maurice Merchant, Director General of Communications, outlined the government’s timeline during a post-Cabinet media briefing held Thursday, confirming that the long-delayed system is on track to go live next month. “Government believes that this should become effective in July of this year,” Merchant stated, clarifying the core function of the policy for consumers: “If you wish to switch from APUA Inet to Flow, you can take your number with you. That’s what number portability is.”

The upcoming launch comes years after the national legislature passed legislation to enable number portability, with implementation held up for an extended period by persistent coordination challenges between the competing telecom operators. When pressed about the years-long delay, Merchant explained that cross-firm collaboration between market rivals has been the biggest barrier to progress. “We must recognize that they are competitors in this field and so collaboration sometimes is not the easiest thing and hence it has taken a while,” he said.

Merchant also highlighted that the policy has the potential to reshape the dynamics of Antigua and Barbuda’s telecom market by lowering the barrier to exit for customers unhappy with their current provider’s service or pricing. “It may mean good for certain providers and it may not, because there may be an exodus of individuals from any particular service provider to another,” he noted.

The number portability plan formed part of a broader Cabinet review of Antigua and Barbuda’s national communications infrastructure, which also covered progress updates on the country’s ongoing subsea cable project and ongoing government efforts to attract new internet service providers to the twin-island nation. All these linked initiatives are designed to boost network reliability for local users, expand competition across the sector, and strengthen the country’s digital communications backbone to support long-term economic development.

Additional details on the rollout schedule, customer registration process, and any associated fees are expected to be announced by Utilities Minister Melford Nicholas in the coming weeks.

Female labor market engagement stands as one of the most fundamental catalysts for expanding national economic output and boosting household earnings across the globe. Within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), however, this critical metric shows greater divergence between member states than almost any other key economic indicator, according to the latest 2025 data. When measuring the share of women aged 15 and above who are either actively employed or searching for work, figures span from a low of 44.9% in Suriname to a regional high of 70.7% in The Bahamas. To put this gap in perspective, less than one out of every two adult women participates in the formal labor market in Suriname, while nearly seven out of 10 do so in The Bahamas.

Across the 10 CARICOM member states tracked, six nations record female labor force participation rates above 58%, with The Bahamas claiming the top spot followed closely by Jamaica and Saint Lucia. The remaining four member states fall into a tight cluster between 45% and 49%, with Guyana emerging as a notable success story of gradual growth. Once sitting in the upper 30% range back in 1990, Guyana has lifted its female participation rate to 47% today, marking meaningful progress over three and a half decades.

Disparities are also stark when comparing labor force engagement between women and men within individual CARICOM countries. In two nations, The Bahamas and Barbados, women’s probability of participating in the labor market comes almost level with that of men. The World Bank has highlighted that the gender gap in both countries is actually smaller than the average gap recorded across the world’s group of highest-income economies. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Belize shows one of the widest gender gaps globally, with men far more likely to participate in the labor force than their female counterparts.

Uniquely among all CARICOM member states, The Bahamas achieves two standout milestones: it boasts not only one of the highest female labor force participation rates in the entire region, but also one of the smallest gender participation gaps among all its member nations.

Antigua and Barbuda’s government is ramping up a strategic long-term agricultural initiative to breathe new life into the country’s legendary Black Pineapple industry, targeting propagation of at least 200,000 genetically improved plants to restore the iconic crop’s legacy.

Details of the industry revival plan were formally unveiled during this week’s post-Cabinet briefing on Thursday, where government officials confirmed that a new shipment of 15,000 tissue-cultured Antigua Black Pineapple seedlings is scheduled to arrive on the island in the coming days.

Maurice Merchant, Director General of Communications, explained that the incoming batch of cultivated plants will join an existing 15,000 plants already established at the Cades Bay Agricultural Station, the central hub for the entire propagation project. “Another 15,000 tissue cultures will arrive in the coming days and they will be propagated at the Cades Bay Station,” Merchant stated in his remarks to reporters. “The ultimate aim is to have at least 200,000 Antigua Black Pineapple plants propagated and ready for cultivation at this facility.”

This large-scale expansion is a core component of a broader national program designed to recover and boost production of the fruit, which has long been celebrated as one of Antigua and Barbuda’s most unique and recognizable agricultural exports. For years, local farmers raised growing concerns that decades of cultivation had eroded the crop’s quality, with the fruit failing to reach its signature large size and delivering lower crop yields than in previous generations.

To address these challenges, agricultural officials launched a scientific genetic improvement initiative more than 12 months ago, when roughly 50 original Antigua Black Pineapple samples were sent to research facilities in St. Vincent for tissue culturing and genetic refinement. The scientific process has successfully preserved all the distinct characteristics that make the Antigua Black Pineapple famous, while eliminating genetic degradation and producing high-quality starting material for large-scale propagation.

“The scientific process cleaned up the genetics so it remains the authentic Antigua Black Pineapple,” Merchant emphasized, confirming that the program has achieved its core goal of retaining the crop’s unique flavor and identity while boosting its productivity.

All propagation work is being conducted at the Cades Bay agricultural facility, where young seedlings are multiplied in controlled conditions before being distributed to local farmers for commercial cultivation across the island. Merchant cautioned that pineapples have a naturally long growing cycle, meaning consumers will not see expanded supply hit local and international markets overnight. Even with this timeline, however, government and agricultural leaders are confident the initiative will deliver significant growth in available Antigua Black Pineapple in the coming years, ultimately reviving an industry that is a key part of the country’s agricultural and cultural identity.

“It is anticipated that we should have regenerated growth of Antigua Black Pineapple very soon on the market,” Merchant added.