"We understand there is a crisis, and the need for banking, but this is our money," Hernandez said. Her business had already adopted electronic banking but she often needs quick access to cash to pay for emergencies on job sites, she added. Rodriguez said he and many other entrepreneurs began using electronic banking long before the new measures were announced to comply with tax laws that have evolved with the growing private sector. But for many smaller businesses and mom-and-pop stores in Cuba, the formalities of doing business, like paying taxes, remain novel concepts, he said. Cuban officials have said the new banking measures are necessary for transparency, to assure transactions are recorded and taxes are paid.

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Persons: Alberto Quinones, Yulieta Hernandez, Hernandez, Fidel Castro, Leonardo Rodriguez, Rodriguez, Ronald Venero, Nelson Acosta, Anett Rios, Carlos Carrillo, Dave Sherwood, Marc Frank, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: HAVANA, Cuba, Cuban, Havana, Santiago de Cuba