I am in Cuba and Revolut's catch 22 is not funny at all

I am in Cuba now. As soon as I landed I wanted to use the ATM, but my Revolut card refused to work and I got a popup on my phone saying something along the lines of “Restricted country, contact support”. Yet, the support can only be contacted through the app, and the app doesn’t want to load (because I am in a restricted country? The error doesn’t say).

  1. Why doesn’t the card work in Cuba, I was expecting it to work in Cuba (only US cards don’t work in Cuba and my Revolut card is a European card). The reason why I have Revolut is so I can use it when I travel, not being able to use it in a country where cards do normally work* is very disappointing.

  2. Why I am being told to contact support when this is impossible because the app won’t load in Cuba?

  3. If the reason why the app won’t load is because I am in Cuba, why doesn’t the error message clearly say so? The error message says “We’re sorry something has gone wrong please try later” which is pulling my leg if the app doesn’t work because of the location.

  4. If the app won’t load in Cuba (please tell me it’s not so!), it would be a major inconvenience, so please tell me it’s not so. Because even while in Cuba I want to conduct my business online using the Revolut card, and not being able to confirm transactions, see what happened, etc, would be hurtful in the extreme.

*If you are using any card in Cuba be aware that you’ll get the official exchange rate which is about 25 CUP for 1 USD, while the (black) market rate is currently (April 2022) above 100 CUP for 1 USD. Traveller beware.

There are several other ways to contact Revolut support. Access to the app is not needed.

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Are you using Wi-Fi or the cellular network? Try both please.

Hello, I am going to cuba next month and I have Revolut too (Visa). Can I ask if you were using Revolut Visa or Revolut MasterCard? Could you use your card at the end? Thanks!

Visa. I was not able to use Revolut in Cuba, but was able to use my normal bank card (European, US cards won’t work) in the few places that accepted cards and charged dollars. But forget cards in Cuba, seriously. Just bring cash, EUR or USD. (May 2022) using ATMs you will get a 1:24 exchange rate while the real exchange rate is 1:110 or more. It’s a ripoff. Just bring cash and exchange to pesos on the black market, it’s the best way to go.

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Thank you very much for the clarification!