The Australian Banking Association is understood to have reached terms with Armaguard that will assure cash distribution is maintained.
The terms of this agreement are not yet clear, with the ABA likely to make an announcement on a settlement of this controversy in coming days.
The ACCC will be taking a close interest, given undertakings made by Armaguard last year on pricing and service levels.
With a market share of more than 90 per cent of cash in transit, Armaguard have held the whip hand in negotiations in which the (contested) fragility of the company’s financial situation was a central theme.
A preliminary understanding between the parties in mid March involved price rises of around 30 per cent, with services to be supplied on this basis for three years.
Then, amid sharp differences between the CEOs of the big four banks, the ABA backtracked and proposed revised pricing that would be valid for only six months (which would not even assure services past Christmas).
Armaguard rejected this, with its owner Linfox providing a working capital facility after previously making plain it was unwilling to do so.
In September last year, Armaguard merged with the local business of Spanish-based Prosegur, the number two operator in the market at the time.
Prosegur was an eager seller in the face of ongoing losses.
Now, in a bizarre twist, Prosegur recently lodged an expression of interest to buy Armaguard outright, though Linfox are understood to be disinterested in selling.