Cuba and the United States have agreed to ease restrictions on money sent home from Cuban Americans. Western Union has authorised the payment of remittances in Cuba's convertible peso. Until now, transfers to Cubans on the island could only be made in US dollars, which are subject to a 10 per cent surcharge.The Cuban government could lose up to 100 million dollars a year in tax revenue by allowing the new payment method. President Raul Castro is in the process of trying to bring the black economy and other illegal practices into the mainstream by doing away with a range of restrictions and prohibitions.