Until now, any German Catholic who stopped payment faced eventual excommunication.

BBC: German Catholics lose church rights for unpaid tax

He stopped making his house payment in October 2007.

CNN: As foreclosures mount, Florida court turns to 'rocket docket'

This was, after all, why banks and merchants stopped issuing their own plastic payment cards about 50 years ago and went instead for the shared models of American Express, MasterCard, Visa, etc.

FORBES: Mobile Payments: What's Taking So Long?