Northern Virginia: visited 1 where I saw a copy of the memo on Sat. - asked cashier politely to try ("tender type not valid" message popped up - similar type of message that you see at 7-11)

Went to 2 other stores but they were sold out, so wasn't able to confirm

Will be stopping by a couple of stores in the city (DC) after work

There is no "becoming enforced". it would be enforced by the register, not the cashier/store. Manager has nothing to do with physical register rejected CC.

3k at CVS 45 minutes from Syracuse, no problem.

I went through my first fraud alert on Citi Exec yesterday when getting 5k of beans in one day. Text was sent to my phone and I authorized the purchase. Reswiped and no problems.

Except for the fact that a number of people are being told cash only. The extent of this shutdown remains to be seen.

24 hr period. For example, I purchased 5k on Saturday at 8am. If I tried buying another 5k at 7:59a on Sunday, it would not work.

Any possibility the regional variation might be because in some states CVS is a separate legal entity from the main CVS? A wholly owned subsidiary of course, but because of regulations in different states (especially for pharmacies) they are legally distinct.

Able to buy 5k this morning in Chicago suburbs.

Did everyone's cvs get the screen is the person standing in front of you? I'm wondering if that was sent to all cvs stores or only select ones that may have been potential problem locations.

Rather than a cruel April Fool's joke, the most hilarious version of this whole ordeal would be if there were a Joker-esque dude masterminding all of this- sending out a memo so that the entire FT world and MSers alike hit each and every single CVS, alerting store managers that perhaps it's time to switch to cash only after all...just like the Joker convincing the people on those 2 boats to blow themselves up instead of the other boat.

Amiright.

Maybe.

Here's another thought if this is indeed "random" from a geographic standpoint-- perhaps they're making it cash only in districts where there's been significant fraud issues.

This way they can continue where it's apparently a viable business opportunity for CVS while eliminating the headache areas.

I guess if one can buy these in Atlanta, it will shoot down my theory!

That pop up question has been going on for quite awhile. Usually the cashier just hits "yes" on the POS. 99% of the time she never tells you its there. That is nothing new and not part of this.

Looks like CVS made the revenue for the quarter :)

The clerk at my CVS said that the VRs were available at the checkout counter as well as the rack. I still use the rack as it only a few steps.

You might ask the cashier if they have any VRs if there are none on the rack.

That's been around for weeks. Has nothing to do with the 3/31 memo.