Get cash before you see the pope — the Vatican can't take credit cards

As of Jan. 1, the pope won’t take plastic. It’s not his choice; it was decreed by a higher power: a bank. Visitors to the Vatican had better come loaded with cold hard cash if they want to see the museum or buy souvenirs. The Bank of Italy, the Italian central bank, pulled the authorization for Deutsche Bank Italia, which had processed payments for Vatican City, to provide electronic payment services for the Vatican, thus making credit card payments impossible. The central bank said the Holy See had not complied with all European Union safeguards against money laundering, and thus, the governing body of the Catholic Church is forced to ask visitors to hit an ATM before dropping by. [Source]

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