Italy Shuts Off Credit Card Payments In Vatican
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Tourists and pilgrims headed to the Vatican City this year must be prepared to pay for any museum tickets, souvenirs and services using cash or cheque only, reported the Associated Press on Thursday, after Italy’s Central Bank suspended all bank card payments in the tiny city-state starting from January 1, citing concerns over the Vatican’s lack of financial transparenc
Tourists and pilgrims headed to the Vatican City this year must be prepared to pay for any museum tickets, souvenirs and services using cash or cheque only, reported the Associated Press on Thursday, after Italy’s Central Bank suspended all bank card payments in the tiny city-state starting from January 1, citing concerns over the Vatican’s lack of financial transparency.
According to a source close to the Bank of Italy (BOI), the Holy See had failed to comply with European Union safeguards on finances, and “apart from not respecting money laundering regulation, did not have the legal prerequisites” for anti-money laundering controls and oversight.
[quote]“It (The Vatican) lacked banking and financial legislation and proper supervision,” the source told Reuters, adding that “Italy does not see the Vatican as a fully compliant country under money-laundering norms.”[/quote]Last year, the Vatican Bank, formally known as the Institute for Works of Religion, was implicated in a money laundering scandal, with US financial firm JP Morgan Chase also choosing to terminate the Vatican Bank’s account with its branch in Italy, while the U.S. State Department officially added the Vatican to its list of money-laundering centres for the first time in its history.
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Although Pope Benedict XVI has since vowed to ensure greater transparency in Vatican finances and the operation of the IOR, BOI reportedly were dissatisfied with the Vatican’s efforts to combat money laundering, which received failing grades from a key European financial transparency test last summer.
Deutsche Bank Italia, which for some 15 years had provided the Vatican with electronic payment services, were thus ordered to shut down their electronic payment services in the city state, while a routine inspection also found that Deutsche Bank Italia did not seek authorisation from the BOI when it first started providing services at the Vatican.
“Discussions are under way with other providers and we foresee that the interruption to credit card services will be short,” said Father Federico Lombardi, head of press relations at the Holy See, in a tightly worded statement cited by the Financial Times.
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A message on the Vatican Museums website apologised to visitors for any inconvenience, blaming “reasons beyond the control of the directorate of museums”.
Tourists unaware of the new regulation were also left frustrated after queuing in long lines to enter Vatican museums.
“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, to AP.
[quote]“It’s (the lack of electronic payments) certainly a disadvantage,” added Giuseppe Amoruso, an Italian. “Credit cards provide a useful service, which needs to be accessible to everybody, everywhere.”[/quote]Five million tourists visited the Vatican museum last year, spending more than 90 million euros ($120m) on tickets and souvenirs. The suspension of bank card payments will also affect the Vatican’s pharmacy, its post office and the few shops that operate in the tiny territory.
