HAVANA, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Payment services operated by Visa and Mastercard will cease functioning in Cuba from June 6, the Central Bank of Cuba said Wednesday.

In a news release, the central bank said that a foreign bank had announced that it would discontinue commercial relationship with Cuban financial and remittance company Fincimex S.A., which processes the transactions.

The central bank said that the interruption was directly related to Executive Order 14404, signed by U.S. President Donald Trump on May 1, which is part of Washington's strategy to suffocate the people of Cuba.

As a result, Cuba will be unable to receive income from the sale of goods and services through international payment cards such as Visa and Mastercard, the central bank said, adding that other payment methods for foreign currency transactions in Cuba remain available, including cash, national prepaid cards, and international cards such as Mir and UnionPay. ■