VATICAN CITY
Reuters

By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY, Jan 13 (Reuters) – The Vatican insisted on Sunday that it had taken adequate measures to combat money laundering and so could not understand why the Bank of Italy had blocked the use of credit and debit cards inside Vatican City.

The central bank stopped Deutsche Bank Italy from providing electronic payment services for the Vatican on Jan. 1 because the Holy See was seen as lacking anti-money-laundering controls and oversight, a move that left thousands of tourists visiting the Vatican museums and gift shops in the lurch, forcing them to use cash.

“I am truly surprised,” Rene Bruelhart, the head of the Vatican’s Financial Information Authority (FIA), told the Corriere della Sera newspaper in an interview Vatican Radio posted on its website.

Bruelhart, 40, said the Holy See had implemented EU-required controls and did not understand the action.