The Reserve Bank of Australia and Treasury have asked the Albanese government for the power to intervene in the circulation of banknotes and coins around the economy and even take over Armaguard if the monopoly cash transport business owned by the billionaire Fox family collapses.

The proposal is an extraordinary intervention and has the support of the country’s most powerful regulators including the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, and comes amid heightened concerns that Armaguard will fail or need to be acquired to continue operating.