VATICAN CITY (AP) — A senior Vatican official says he is “truly surprised” that the Bank of Italy ordered credit card payments suspended in the tiny city-state and insists the Vatican has taken adequate measures to fight money laundering.
The Vatican has been cash-only since Jan. 1 after Italy’s central bank compelled Deutsche Bank Italia to stop providing electronic payment services to the Holy See. That has meant visitors to the Vatican Museums — they numbered 5 million last year — and the Vatican post office have had to pay cash for tickets and any other transactions.
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