Travelers checks can be cashed in banks or in Casa de Cambios (CADECAS), and in some, but not all, hotels. Banks charge the least commission. Casa de Cambios were first established in 1995 to buy and sell currency, and to stop Cubans illegally dealing with currency exchange on the streets. State control over the currency reduced, almost overnight, the exchange rate. The rate went from 130-150 to 25-30 pesos to the dollar. Because Cuba prefers to deal in cash, you cannot use credit cards as freely as you can elsewhere in the world. The problem with Casa de Cambios are that there is always a line outside of them: Cubans waiting to exchange dollars for pesos which they re-sell outside of the capital for 2 pesos more on the dollar.