US Sanctions Ripple to Belfast Sandwich Shop, Halting Deliveroo Payments

Owner Carlos Arguelles says his Cuban Sandwich Factory has been forced to suspend Deliveroo orders after an American bank stopped processing payments. The interruption began in mid-June and has continued sporadically, leaving the business with unpaid sums exceeding £7,000. Arguelles reports that the payment freeze stems from an automatic trigger linked to the word “Cuba” in the bank’s compliance system.

The Irish Times

For more than a decade, the United States has imposed tightening economic sanctions on Cuba. Arguelles, who moved from Cuba to Northern Ireland in 1998, previously encountered a similar obstacle during the first Trump administration, when Deliveroo required proof of his UK residency. The current sanctions, extended under the Biden administration, affect any entity “associated with Cuba,” according to Arguelles, and now extend to a small sandwich shop in Belfast.

The Irish Times

Half of the shop’s employees rely on Deliveroo sales for their wages. With the payment flow halted, Arguelles says the business cannot sustain payroll and has begun canceling orders from meat suppliers, bakers, and other vendors. He describes the situation as “unsustainable” and notes that the loss of online delivery threatens the shop’s overall viability.

The Irish Times

Deliveroo has been contacted for comment but has not provided a response. No statement from the U.S. bank handling the payments or from U.S. sanction-enforcement agencies is available in the sources.

The Irish Times

• “The last payment we received from Deliveroo was in mid-June and it has been sporadic since then. This is not Deliveroo’s fault but the American bank that makes the payments. There seems to be an automatic trigger as soon as the word ‘Cuba’ appears,” — Carlos Arguelles, founder of the city centre based Cuban Sandwich Factory

The Irish Times