I just read a piece in the NYT reporting that for the moment, museums and shops at the Vatican are unable to accept payments by credit or debit card, and the cash machines within the Vatican also will not work (unless you have a Vatican Bank card!). Ironically, this has to do with Bank of Italy concerns regarding money-laundering at the Vatican, according to the report. So make sure you have cash in hand if you're headed there!
Posted by
The Hague, NL (AMS)
2207 posts
There are a ton of postings on this issue... and it's true - currently it's cash only at the Vatican. To most folks living in Italy, this comes as NO surprise. Since the late 1970's the Vatican financial pictures has been... well, troubled. And they have repeatedly failed to comply with EU and Italian banking regulations. Since they have depended on the Italian banks for credit card functions... and now the Italian government has had enough (they've got their own financial problems)... they basically "pulled the plug" on the Vatican. The Vatican will probably not be able to move quickly enough to meet the Italian regulations so rumor has it they are looking outside Italy for a bank to assist them - Wonder what those bank charges will be. For many, this "issue" goes all the way back to John Paul I, the Pope who was in office for 33 days. Conspiracy theorists claim his death was due in part to his vow to "clean up the Vatican bank." Not sure about that. John Paul II was made aware of the bank issues when he took office and he did not act on many of the concerns... Then there were the huge banking scandals in 1982. Recently, the head of the bank was fired... Also recently, 29 million dollars was removed from one of their Italian bank accounts for "discrepancies." And now we have this. They've brought in a banking expert to try and "revive" their banking reputation. So this is not a surprise... but still shocking. For travelers, it will be require some planning to have cash available. Their online ticketing service is still accepting credit cards but rumor has it that this option may soon disappear. They need to RAPIDLY get in compliance with the EU and Italy banking regulations... or find a BANK! Hopefully they will - Till then, bring cash!
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8163 posts
It's not clear how the Bank of Italy and the Vatican got sideways on bank ATM and charge cards. You can imagine that they'll get their differences settled soon. If you're getting reservations through outside agencies for Vatican Museum tours, they'll be taking credit cards for payment. They're external of the Vatican which is technically a different country.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15593 posts
From the official website of the Vatican Museums - "No electronic payments from 1 January We regret to inform visitors that from 1 January 2013, for reasons beyond the control of the Directorate of the Museums, it will not be possible to make payments in the Vatican Museums by electronic means such as Bancomat or credit/debit card.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause." It looks like you can still purchase tickets in advance through the website with the usual €4 fee - as Ron said, apparently because it is through an Italian agency, not the Vatican itself.