Money at the Vatican, and what I'd carry in my wallet

When it comes to money, the Vatican makes life easy and Rome slightly less so. The state has no currency of its own beyond the euro, its official tickets are sold online by card and Rome’s public transport takes contactless. Where British visitors really lose money is in the details, above all in one question that cash machines and card terminals ask when they spot a UK card.

What currency does Vatican City use?

The euro. The Vatican uses it under a monetary agreement with the European Union signed in Brussels on 17 December 2009 and in force since 1 January 2010, replacing an earlier one from 2000. It isn’t in the European Union, and what makes it a state in its own right I explain in is Vatican City a country. So everything you pay there, from a dome ticket to a museum audio guide, is priced in euros, exactly as in Rome.

What I find rather fun is that the Vatican mints its own euro coins. They’re made in Italy by the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, up to a limit of one million euros’ worth each year, and apart from the gold and silver ones they’re legal tender in Italy. In practice, if you get one in your change it’s worth the same as any other euro, although I’d honestly keep it. Everything else about the country, from the Lateran Pacts to its 882 residents, is in my guide to Vatican City.

Pounds or euros, and why I wouldn’t change much cash

I’m not going to quote you an exchange rate, because it moves every day and I’d rather you checked the live figure with your own bank. What I can tell you is how I’d handle sterling for a Vatican trip. I’d change very little into cash, because almost everything you’ll pay for here goes on a card. The museums’ online ticket office wants a credit card, the basilica and dome bookings take credit cards, debit cards and PayPal, and the necropolis and the official basilica tour only accept credit cards. Rome’s metro, buses and trams take contactless too.

The part that varies is what your UK bank charges for spending abroad, and that’s between you and your bank, so it’s worth reading your card’s terms before you fly. Carrying a lot of cash has its own risks as well. OSAC, the US State Department’s Overseas Security Advisory Council, warns that fake notes circulate in Rome, especially €20 notes, and flags pickpockets on crowded buses and around the big sights. I’d take out a small amount of euros from a cash machine for odds and ends and put the rest on a card.

The cash machine question that costs you

When you pay with a UK card, some cash machines and card terminals offer to charge you in pounds instead of euros. It’s called dynamic currency conversion, and it’s where I see people lose money without noticing, because the exchange rate is set by whoever offers the conversion, not by your bank.

Inside the EU this is governed by Regulation (EU) 2019/518, in force since 19 April 2020 and now folded into Regulation 2021/1230. It requires anyone offering that conversion at a cash machine or point of sale to show the total cost as a percentage mark-up on the latest European Central Bank reference rate before you confirm. The EU rules on this were written with Union currencies in mind, though, and sterling isn’t one of them any more, so I wouldn’t lean on them with a UK card. My rule has no exceptions. In Rome and at the Vatican I always pick euros and let my bank do the maths. I cover this and other money traps in the scams I’d watch out for around the Vatican.

Cash machines and cards, where to be careful

OSAC also reports a rise in skimmers, the devices that copy your card, on cash machines in Rome. It recommends well-lit machines or ones inside bank branches, and covering the keypad as you type your PIN, which is exactly what I’d do. Spain’s foreign ministry adds a tip I agree with, which is to keep your card in sight whenever you pay so nobody can copy it.

As for whether every shop will take your card, Confcommercio, the Italian retailers’ association, says that since 30 June 2022 businesses in Italy that refuse card payments risk a fine of €30 plus 4% of the refused transaction. I’m passing that on as they put it, because I haven’t been able to check it against the Gazzetta Ufficiale. Tipping is similar. I haven’t found a reliable source, so I’d rather not give you figures.

Paying for the metro and buses by tapping in

You don’t need to hunt for a tobacconist to buy a ticket in Rome any more. According to ATAC, its Tap&Go system lets you pay with a contactless card (Mastercard, Visa, American Express, JCB, UnionPay, Maestro, V Pay or prepaid) or with your phone or watch, on every bus and tram, all three metro lines and the railway lines it runs. Each tap is valid for 100 minutes, but only for one metro journey, and each card covers one person, so a couple needs a card each.

What I haven’t been able to confirm is exactly how much each tap costs or whether there’s a daily cap, so I’d check on ATAC’s website before travelling. The BIT ticket costs €1.50 according to ATAC, and the tourist passes, which I compare in how to do the Vatican cheaply, pay off if you’re moving around a lot. If you buy a paper ticket from a kiosk or machine, validate it, because the UK government’s travel advice mentions on-the-spot fines for passengers who forget. And on the airport train, the Leonardo Express, ATAC tickets aren’t valid, which I explain in getting to the Vatican.

What each official ticket office accepts

This is what the official websites say and nothing more. At the museums, the online ticket office needs a credit card plus the names of all the visitors, and the prices page doesn’t say how you pay at the desk itself. The basilica accepts «the main electronic payment methods» for its online sales, including credit cards, debit cards and PayPal, and that covers the €7 booking and the climb up the dome. The Vatican Necropolis is paid through an online link by credit card, as is the official basilica tour. Poste Vaticane doesn’t publish its payment methods. The prices for all of this are on my Vatican tickets page.

How much cash you can use and carry

Since 1 January 2023, you can’t pay €5,000 or more in cash between different people in Italy. There’s an exception aimed at visitors, because shops and travel agencies can take up to €15,000 in cash from non-resident foreigners, with a copy of the passport and a self-declaration. And the FCDO says that if you arrive or leave with €10,000 or more in cash or traveller’s cheques you must declare it, or it can be seized. These limits hardly ever matter on a Vatican trip, but they’re worth knowing if you’re planning a big purchase in Rome.