Hmmm...Then the switch makes even less sense.

It is foolish to believe that MS is not related to this.

Companies run profitability reports. If you do over 1k, they scan you ID. They link that to the last 4 of the paying CC. This creates a transaction history, and if they've got a good POS system, that history contains every useful bit of information, primarily purchase time, price and item code.

There's a plethora of methods and models that use such information to determine overall profitability of a particular product type. Someone (probably Cary, or his boss) had their analysts run the numbers on prepaids, and extrapolated different effects from making different changes (CC only, CC w/extra fee, no Serve reloads, Serve reloads w/fees for CC).

If this is nationwide, we can conclude a couple things - either they were tired of merchant fees from MSers, they were tired of MSers forcing other customers to wait in line, they were tired of chargebacks from MSing gone wrong, or they were tired of the fraud that's rampant in prepaid scams. Any combination of these things seems entirely plausible.

I hope it's not nationwide, it would surprise me (and please me) if it wasn't. You heard it here first.

Just picked up 5K in philly. No signs were posted, and the fairly knowledgeable/nosy cashier didn't know anything. The assistant manager (highest I've ever seen) said she hadn't heard anything. Will try another store for .9x later.

I go to many many CVSs in 3 states. In at least 7 of them I have heard the same story about some old man who was suckered into giving his money from Green Dot Money Paks to some scammer and that the police had to get involved.

1) CVS doesnt sell MPs to a CC in New England as far as I have found. So why would the store talk about how using a CC in this scam against the old man was even being done? It cant be. (Some Rite Aids sell MP to CC but not all)

2) Every clerk who told me about this says it was in his or her store. They have been fed this line when talking about watching out for fraud to make us believe they are watching out for it. this is a lie. I dont even think it happened.


I think somehow CVS needed a system wide out from selling these things to CCs any longer. Here's maybe why...

Why do stores go cash only for things?

Some stores may have changed to cash only for this or that over time... it is because of things like theft, fraud, charge backs or other related PITAs for the store that made the manager use his or her discretion to stop a certain transaction type from continuing. And that store may have GCs on the rack but went cash only to prevent themselves from getting burnt again. Corporate, and the other stores down the street may wish to still sell the items to CC, but this or that store no longer does. Customers who complain get countered with stories of fraud, etc. They believe it and do not complain to corporate. And if they do, corporate says the managers can use discretion to alter rulings for their liking. But they do want their districts to sell these products so usually, I have found that if one CVS is cash only or limiting things to say only $1k a day, that's the only one in the district that is like that. (not always the case though).

But now, if the whole company is going cash only, that's maybe because they have figured out they are losing money and need a way out. So a massive fraud story would be a good way to do it. Then they can all stand by that story and not get in trouble with whatever entity (like and investor or Inocmm, etc) who wants to do business with them.

I have no idea if what I am saying holds water, but to me, I just find it funny that when I go out to buy large quantity of these things how many clerks are now bringing up all the fraud out there they are trying to protect me from (while actually making it harder for me to do commerce, which is protecting me from nothing and is very annoying to say the least!)

I still know of places (not cvs) where you can do large quantity business and get less hassle. I recommend people just branch out and find them for themselves and please, let's not blog about it!

I aint blaming the blogs --heck, I wrote about how to VR to BB myself--but the less direct and specific stories about these things show up on Google search, the better. After all if just one over zealous CVS or other store manager starts to find blogs on how we make money or free airline tickets on "scamming" their store (in their minds, we are scammers) then that could be why the company is upset. It sees the fact that we are making something off this as them NOT making as much as they could off this. I think some over zealous "NO" person took over some department at CVS and is one of those types that doesnt want other people to make money.

He or she is the Putin of anti MS... swooping in to take over the VRea from the Ukrainian MSers and there's little the MS world can do about it.

I have no idea

CVS now $5k/day
 

Its not really news if front line employees or even Managers haven't heard the news. When the clock strikes midnight if the registers are hard coded then game over.

Actually, I could see how it changes quite a bit for the fraud vector.

That credit card in your wallet has the equivalent buying power of equal to the cc's credit limit ----without actually being cash.

So which do you think is easier?

A) Fraudulently obtaining a cc or cc number with a $10,000 credit limit

or

B) Fraudulently obtaining $10,000 in cash


I'm pretty sure A is much much more prevalent as how many wallets are stolen each day with a couple credit cards in them, but no cash, vs wallets with no credit cards, but 100 benjamins?

I concur that the vector is not shut down entirely by going to cash only, but I can see how it removes the small fish fraud types almost entirely from the equation, leaving only the big fish.

Think of it like this too:

While we are doing is not illegal, the exact same reason we love VR's at CVS is the same as ones that ARE doing illegal things.......the ease of which a cc is converted into cash. We do it for the cc cashback/ miles / points...........they do it to cover tracks.

So in other words, the same reasons why we grumble and groan at VR's being cash only are the same for cc fraudsters involved in this game.

My two cents...thanks for reading.

I just stopped in to my local store to purchase what they had. All went through fine. I asked both employees if they had heard about them going to cash only tomorrow and neither knew anything. The one employee even made the comment that she had checked her email but hadn't seen anything.

We will see tomorrow!

If Cary thinks he has the final solution, wait until we show up at CVS with sacks of dollar coins to buy beans on April 1. The mint wanted us to circulate those puppies and Cary wants cash, so this is win-win all around. The first $5,000 order ought to make CVS look like it was hit by a Coinado!:cool:

I wouldn't blame bloggers for this going away, if I was looking for someone to blame it would be those who have a fistful of BB's for every living relative they have, though those relatives have nothing to do with the transactions on those cards other and are in reality just a front.

I'm in Chicago and the notice about cash only starting tomorrow is posted by the cash register at the Broadway and Barry store. Boo!

The wiki is wrong. I bought 5k yesterday around 3pm. Then bought another 5k around 8am this morning. So it def rolls over around midnight.

Unless I'm mistaken (which is quite possible with all the different reports) people weren't buying cards when calling in. They were asking the cashiers to load the cards as a test for corporate, no?

I'm in FL and I've been to two CVS stores. Both stores had no knowledge of going cash only for VR. One cashier even said it was a good idea, and she is surprised it hasn't happened yet. I'm inclined to think this is regional if it is really happening.

CVS now $5k/day
 

Again, just because your local Joe doesn't know means zero at this point.

What is up with all these posts from people with extremely low post counts?