Happy

Mind you, CVS is NOT the only retailer that some stores request cash purchase only. Why dont you pick a fight with Walgreen? Family Dollar? or some gas stations which also carry the VR but are "cash only"? Why only pick on CVS? just because it is about the only national chain that would take CC for such purchase but it so happens that the store you went would not let you?

As for buying VR with cash - lots of people would, though most likely not in the $1000 per pop fashion. People with no bank accounts but still need to pay bills, and/or send money to family members live in another city - using a BB account is much cheaper than other means to accomplish what they need to get done. You would be surprised to learn there are many people dont have bank accounts and go to WalMart every pay period to cash their payroll checks / pay bills / send money to their families... Go to the Money Center of a big WalMart store and see for yourself the fee schedule posted on the wall there for various services people use everyday. Many of such services could be handled now via BB with no fee as long as you pay to buy the reloadable and then has the money sit in your BB account.

Dont you see the big splash slogan on the Bluebird site reads as this:

Your Checking and Debit Alternative
Loads with features, not fees.

This is the market segment WalMart is targeting for years but its quest to enter retail banking is constantly thawed by the regulatory body for obvious reasons. So finally it teams up with AMEX, another heavy weight in the card business to offer a pseudo banking product without the need to get a bank license. With its current fee-based services, all it earns are the fees on each transaction, it does not get money sitting in a bank account that can facilitate a lending business or whatever banking activities that earn the bank money. With a BB account, it is highly likely that there is always some balance in the account, just like a normal bank account. As its popularity grows, it becomes a source of near 0 cost of money supply to finance WalMart's business. Business 101 if you will.

Like I said, if you feel so strongly about CVS or any retailers (including all the outlets that sell reloables with cash only such as WG, Family Dollar etc, are engaging to facilitate drug money laundering, why dont you take up the cause and write to your Congressmen instead of yelping on FT? All because you were having a hard time at a CVS store and for whatever reason the store refused to sell you a VR so you are coming up with such as "drug money laundering facilitator" thesis...

I will wager to bet that 90% of the thread readers find your thesis / accusation pretty laughable.