Vatican ‘cash only’ as bank blocks electronic payments

It’s “cash only” now for tourists at the Vatican wanting to buy museum tickets, souvenirs, and other services after Italy’s central bank decided to block electronic payments, including credit cards, at the tiny city-state.

Deutsche Bank Italia — which had provided the Vatican with electronic payment services for 15 years — said the Bank of Italy had pulled its authorisation after Dec 31.

The Corriere della Sera newspaper reported the Italian central bank took the action because the Holy See has not yet fully complied with EU safeguards against money laundering.

The Vatican says it is scrambling to solve the problem for thousands of visitors who flock to its museums. The Holy See had no immediate comment on the Bank of Italy’s reported reasons.

Tourists in Vatican City were not happy about the inconvenience. “A lot of tourists don’t have cash on them, so they have to get euros and don’t know where to get them,” said Fluger William Hunter, an American tourist.

The central bank said a routine inspection found Deutsche Bank Italia had not sought authorisation when it first started providing services at the Vatican. When it did, the Bank of Italy turned it down because the Vatican’s banking norms did not meet Italy’s more stringent criteria of recent years, a central bank official said.