ACCC gives banks approval to collaborate on cash solutions

The news: The competition and consumer watchdog has given the Australian Banking Association, its members and other industry participants the go-ahead to collude on maintaining the physical distribution of cash in Australia.

The numbers: Cash payments accounted for about 13% of transactions in 2022, and about 8% of the value of consumer payments, according to Reserve Bank figures.

The context: Cash-in-transit provider Armaguard has expressed concerns the industry is currently unsustainable. Cash-in-transit includes transport, management and processing services provided to banks, retailers and ATM operators. The ACCC said a key condition of the authorisation was to maintain cash access in remote and regional areas, which has been dwindling against a backdrop of hundreds of bank branch closures in recent years.

What they said: "The ACCC will closely assess any proposed response, and in particular the extent to which it secures ongoing access to cash in remote and regional areas where bank branches are limited and members of the public often access cash through non-bank sources including Australia Post and retailers," ACCC Acting Chair Catriona Lowe said.