Venmo Blocking Payments Related To Cuban Food Due To US Sanctions On Cuba

If you’re just about finished with a gratifying meal of Cuban food with some of your closest friends and colleagues, you’re probably gonna pause a second before splitting the check. According to BuzzFeed, Venmo is blocking payments pertaining to Cuban food thanks to US sanctions on Cuba.

A group of Buzzfeed staff came upon this the hard way as they grabbed some Cuban food for lunch and tried to divvy up the check using the money transfer platform. Because Venmo needs to be wary of breaching sanctions on specfic countries like Syria, Iran, and Cuba, payments containing key words are flagged and blocked pending review.

It seems stuff like this happens quite often when people Venmo each other for Cuban food, drinks or even entertainment. While relations between Cuba and the US are getting better as time passes, the prohibitions of Cuban Assets Control Regulations are still being enforced, said BuzzFeed.

So the next time you’re dining out with some company and enjoying some fresh medianoche sandwiches, perhaps just bring cash or avoid mentioning Cuba in the payment.