Armaguard, the Australian Banking Association, the major banks and others have received the final all-clear from the ACCC to continue their collaborative conduct intended to keep Armaguard in business.
The solvency and viability of Armaguard has been in question ever since its takeover of rival Prosegur in 2023.
Rather than solve its viability issues commercially, Armaguard cornered the major banks and the major retailers into considering funding support on terms that needed authorisation from the ACCC.
This final authorisation paves the way for consulting firm Deloitte to engage with the funding parties and Armaguard to develop an “Independent Pricing Mechanism proposal”.
The funding parties selected Deloitte for this role late last month.
One of the conditions of the ACCC is that the ABA will ensure that Deloitte (or any alternative independent facilitator) “conducts reasonable consultation with third parties in respect of the development of the Independent Pricing Mechanism prior to any in-principle agreement and during the authorisation period.”
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Placing the Australian Banking Association at the head of the table for the coordination of Deloitte’s work, and generally, does sit well with interested parties.
Jason Bryce from Cash Welcome said “I am disappointed that carriage of the authorised conduct is in the hands of the ABA and not the Reserve Bank.
“The ABA is not independent and has not committed to making the cash system truly sustainable.”