👉 Background: Armaguard was founded back in 1938, and specialises in transferring money from banks to ATMs to retailers and back. With the decline in cash circulation, Armaguard nearly fell into administration last year - but a group of banks threw them a $50 million lifeline to keep them afloat.

‍👉 What happened: Now, less than 12 months later, Armaguard is back, cap-in-hand, asking for more help. The problem is there is less cash in circulation — meaning less need for their services. As a result Armaguard’s revenue is drying up faster than a forgotten ATM receipt.

‍👉 What else: The decline of Armaguard is creating a major concern for major banks and the Reserve Bank of Australia - because there aren't any other competitors to turn to.

What's the key learning?

💡Being a monopoly usually means you’ve got the market all to yourself — but if your industry is dying, there isn’t much room to move In fact, RBA data shows that in 2022, only 13% of transactions were made in cash, and that was down from 70% in 2007.

💡Armaguard is the last major player standing in the cash-handling industry after it acquired its rival Prosegur in 2022. And that means it has no other potential companies to acquire, partner with and share costs.

💡With demand for their cash-handing services declining, their options are narrowing:

1. Find a way cut more costs or raise prices
2. Get another financial bailout from the banks
3. Shut down and say goodbye to money circulation in Australia