The Reserve Bank of India, in a major customer friendly decision, has allowed money withdrawal and purchase at retail establishments located in any part of the country. Customers can use around 4.7 lakh retail establishments as "mini-ATMs" for withdrawing cash and making purchases.

However, there would be a cash withdrawal limit of Rs 1,000 per card per day from the point of sale (POS) terminals - the machines deployed by banks in retail establishments for swiping cards.

The RBI has yet to announce a date for the scheme to be effective. However, bankers hope it to be active in next couple of months. The apex bank may take decision in this regard at its forthcoming meeting to review the monetary policy, on Tuesday.

Commenting on the development, Kishore Biyani, the owner of retailing brands like Pantaloons and Big Bazar, said: "I believe that retailers should operate as banks. This seems to be a first step towards that. I don't see a problem in handling customers who wish to avail of this facility as we have more than 30 to 40 check-out counters at our stores. In fact, the move may draw more potential customers into our stores."

It has come to the notice of apex bank that retail customers have been using their debit cards in retail establishments even for making small purchases. Thus, it felt there was no harm in allowing customers the cash withdrawal service from POS terminals.