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Visa cashback is a new service allowing customers to withdraw small amounts of money (maximum zł.200) while shopping. Malgorzata O'Shaughnessy, managing director of Visa Europe in Poland, says some 90 percent of debit-card holders in Poland will be able to use the service by the end of the year.

According to Jacek Obłękowski, a member of the board at Bank PKO BP, some 80 percent of all card transactions are made at ATMs. "Our aim is to move part of the transactions to the places where they are actually completed," says Obłękowski. PKO BP together with Multibank and Mbank are launching the service.

"Our society believes that a debit card is only to be used at cash dispensers," says Marek Paradowski, the president of Eservice, which operates over 33,000 point-of-sale (POS) terminals across Poland. Adam Parfiniewicz, the president of Polcard, the owner of over 56,000 POS terminals, expects a turnover increase in the stores offering the service.

Polcard and Eservice will charge banks zł.0.50 for each transaction. The banks say the service will be initially offered free of charge. Cashback is already available at some Empik stores, BP petrol stations and Real supermarkets. Polcard and Eservice says the service will be accessible in more than 5,500 retailers by the end of 2006.