Credit card freeze costs Vatican 30,000 euros per day
Tourists forced to pay in cash since Bank of Italy suspension
(ANSA) - Vatican City, January 15 - A freeze on credit-card and ATM transactions inside Vatican City since the start of the year has cost the Church 300,000 euros so far, estimates reported Tuesday said.
An investigation by Rome prosecutors into an alleged money-laundering case led to the freeze on January 1, making international headlines and worrying tourists, who have had to pay in cash at the Vatican's museums and shops.
The Bank of Italy suspended bank-card payments in the Vatican City state over its failure to fully implement international anti-money laundering standards.
In late December, the central bank denied Deutsche Bank Italy, the Vatican's former provider of electronic payment services, a permit because of the Vatican's shortcomings in financial controls and oversight.
he apparent tipping point that triggered the action was a Rome prosecutor's investigation of possible money-laundering in 2010 at the Vatican's bank, also known as the Institute for Religious Works (IOR).
The Holy See has been trying without success to join the 'white list' of states that meet international standards on combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
Link