While the electro-energy crisis affecting the country forces every aspect of daily life to be adjusted, banking entities in the province of Ciego de Ávila have deployed a range of measures to maintain their essential services.

Kelly Pardillo Padilla, Communications Specialist at the Provincial Directorate of the Popular Savings Bank (BPA), and Vlamil Rodríguez Fernández, Head of the Electronic Banking Department at the Provincial Directorate of the Credit and Commerce Bank (Bandec), explained to Invasor how they are facing the challenge.

Both institutions have modified their customer service hours from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in all their branches. But the key has been the progressive installation of photovoltaic systems.

The BPA already has 10 branches in as many municipalities operating with solar panels, including the municipal capitals and the towns of Tamarindo and Punta Alegre. «The public has received it very well and we have improved the quality of service,» assured Pardillo Padilla.

Bandec, for its part, reports five branches with photovoltaic kits working: Venezuela, Baraguá, Florencia, Bolivia and Ciro Redondo. Additionally, a more powerful system is being installed at the provincial headquarters and the Maceo No. 3 branch to guarantee connectivity for the entire provincial network.

«It is necessary for them to remain powered so that all branches can provide services, especially in terms of electronic banking,» stressed Rodríguez Fernández.

At the BPA, the branches that still lack solar panels are those in Morón, Ceballos, and the two in the provincial capital: the one on Martí Park and the one on the Boulevard. In Morón, they rely on a generator set, subject to fuel availability.

In the capital, the Martí Park branch is backed up by the «Express Circuit», which avoids interruptions, while the Boulevard branch (branch 5532) follows Circuit 3 (three hours without power, three hours with power) and also has a generator set as support.

At Bandec, all branches have generator sets, and fuel is allocated to them in coordination with the stations of the Telecommunications Company of Cuba SA (Etecsa), to «allow the communication» necessary for card operations, especially payments to pensioners.

Both banks prioritise pensioners, a vulnerable sector. At the BPA, on payment days, they are served exclusively from 8:00 to 11:00 a.m., receiving the full amount of their pension. After that time, until 1:00 p.m., the rest of the population is served.

Regarding customers who hold tickets outside of opening hours, Pardillo Padilla was clear: «Those customers are respected, identified as pending, and are served either the next day or, depending on the availability of power, on that same day.»

BPA’s ATMs are enabled «according to the cash availability» of the branches, with daily analysis, and qualified staff have been assigned to help those who are not familiar with them.

At Bandec, the bet is on QR codes for the extra cash service via Transfermóvil, although this depends on Etecsa providing connectivity in each municipality. «If there is communication, the extra cash service can be applied in our branches even if there is no electricity,» explained Rodríguez Fernández.

Bandec has set out to extend photovoltaic systems to all its branches in the province during this year. Meanwhile, the combination of solar panels, generator sets, staggered hours and prioritisation of the most vulnerable attempts to guarantee Avilanians access to their finances, despite the constant electrical interruptions.