Anyone heading to the Vatican had better pray they have enough cash with them after a move to block credit card payments. The city-state can only take notes and coins for museum tickets and other services after Italy's central blanks stopped electronic payments. That is because Deutsche Bank Italia - which until now provided the service - has ruled that the Vatican does not fully comply with EU safeguards against money laundering. As a result Italian banks are not authorised to operate within the Vatican, which is trying to improve methods to battle laundering. Card rejected: Ben Kiniry, of Texas, gets cash from an ATM machine along Rome's Via della Conciliazione, the main road leading to the Vatican. Italy's central bank decided to block electronic payments, including credit cards, at the tiny city-state . The Vatican says it is 'scrambling' to solve the problem for thousands of visitors who flock to its very popular museums and attractions, such as the Sistine Chapel. Tourists in the long queues that snaked around the Vatican City walls today were not happy about the inconvenience. Italian Giuseppe Amoruso said: 'It's certainly a disadvantage. Credit cards provide a useful service, which needs to be accessible to everybody, everywhere.' American tourist Fluger William Hunter said: 'A lot of tourists don't have cash on them, so they have to get euros and don't know where to get them.' The central bank said a routine . inspection found that Deutsche Bank Italia had not sought authorisation . when it first started providing services at the Vatican. When . it finally did, the Bank of Italy turned it down because the Vatican's . banking norms, including measures to combat money laundering, did not . meet Italy's more stringent criteria. The . Vatican has been striving to upgrade its measures to detect and . discourage money laundering, hiring a Swiss expert just a few months . ago. Donation: The ban on credit cards is a major blow as the museums and other attractions of the Vatican are a major source of income for the tiny city-state . Crime prevention: The ban was implemented because the Vatican does not comply with EU safeguards against money laundering . The Vatican, home of Pope Benedict XVI, is desperately trying to improve security measures and get permission to accept electronic money transfers . Last summer, the Holy See passed a key European financial transparency test but received failing grades for its financial watchdog agency and its bank, formally called the Institute for Religious Works. The museums, with their entrance fees and popular souvenir shops, are a big money-maker for the Vatican. Other Vatican attractions, such as tours of the Vatican's ancient underground spaces, also charge admission.
Vatican falls foul of anti-money laundering safeguards .
Bank of Italy pulled authorisation earlier this week .
City-state authorities say they are 'scrambling' to solve the problem .
Anyone heading to the Vatican had better pray they have enough cash with them after a move to block credit card payments. The city-state can only take notes and coins for museum tickets and other services after Italy's central blanks stopped electronic payments. That is because Deutsche Bank Italia - which until now provided the service - has ruled that the Vatican does not fully comply with EU safeguards against money laundering. As a result Italian banks are not authorised to operate within the Vatican, which is trying to improve methods to battle laundering. Card rejected: Ben Kiniry, of Texas, gets cash from an ATM machine along Rome's Via della Conciliazione, the main road leading to the Vatican. Italy's central bank decided to block electronic payments, including credit cards, at the tiny city-state . The Vatican says it is 'scrambling' to solve the problem for thousands of visitors who flock to its very popular museums and attractions, such as the Sistine Chapel. Tourists in the long queues that snaked around the Vatican City walls today were not happy about the inconvenience. Italian Giuseppe Amoruso said: 'It's certainly a disadvantage. Credit cards provide a useful service, which needs to be accessible to everybody, everywhere.' American tourist Fluger William Hunter said: 'A lot of tourists don't have cash on them, so they have to get euros and don't know where to get them.' The central bank said a routine . inspection found that Deutsche Bank Italia had not sought authorisation . when it first started providing services at the Vatican. When . it finally did, the Bank of Italy turned it down because the Vatican's . banking norms, including measures to combat money laundering, did not . meet Italy's more stringent criteria. The . Vatican has been striving to upgrade its measures to detect and . discourage money laundering, hiring a Swiss expert just a few months . ago. Donation: The ban on credit cards is a major blow as the museums and other attractions of the Vatican are a major source of income for the tiny city-state . Crime prevention: The ban was implemented because the Vatican does not comply with EU safeguards against money laundering . The Vatican, home of Pope Benedict XVI, is desperately trying to improve security measures and get permission to accept electronic money transfers . Last summer, the Holy See passed a key European financial transparency test but received failing grades for its financial watchdog agency and its bank, formally called the Institute for Religious Works. The museums, with their entrance fees and popular souvenir shops, are a big money-maker for the Vatican. Other Vatican attractions, such as tours of the Vatican's ancient underground spaces, also charge admission.
'scrambling' to solve the problem for thousands the Bank of Italy turned it down because the