MasterCard to lift block on Cuba sales

MasterCard Inc. said it will lift a block on U.S. bankcard transactions in Cuba after receiving guidance from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

The change takes effect March 1, according to a bulletin the Purchase, N.Y.-based company sent to banks and other customers and obtained by Bloomberg News. Seth Eisen, a MasterCard spokesman, confirmed the bulletin’s contents.

President Barack Obama announced last month that the U.S. would relax restrictions on trade and travel with Cuba, which would include allowing Americans to use their credit cards in the country. MasterCard and Visa Inc. cards issued by banks outside the U.S. are already accepted in the Caribbean nation.

North Korea will be the only country blocked by MasterCard after after March 1, according to the bulletin.

Larger rival Visa Inc. didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Treasury Department this month revised regulations tied to U.S. sanctions on Cuba, which included allowing U.S. financial firms to open accounts at Cuban banks to handle transactions, according to a Jan. 15 statement. U.S. companies also are authorized to enroll merchants and process credit- and debit-card transactions for travel-related and other expenses, the department said.