Vix Mobility
Vix Mobility provides simple solutions to complex problems for its customers in the transit sector, facilitating an efficient and affordable public transport experience.
Need
To secure a contract with a North American local government for 15 years, Vix Mobility needed to provide a bond.
Solution
Our US$2.5 million bond facility enabled Vix Mobility to continue to invest, rather than have its working capital tied up for a performance bond for three years.
Creating exceptional journey experiences forms the core of Vix Mobility’s (Trading as Vix Technology) mission, and we were able to support its growth into new markets.
As a Perth-based business operating globally, Vix Technology has 17 offices worldwide. With more than 35 years of experience in the transit sector, Vix Technology connects people and places, now and in the future.
Having focused primarily on ticketing for public transit, Martyn Jenkins, CFO at Vix Technology, highlighted that the business: “provided one of the very first smart card ticketing platforms in Japan and then in Darwin, Australia. As we expanded, that footprint grew globally to some of the major world-class cities around the world.”
$2 million worth of working capital goes a long way in a business. If we didn’t secure the support from Export Finance Australia, that's essentially what we would have had to give up. That then influences our investment choices within the business and our ability to further invest in our product.
Martyn Jenkins
CFO, Vix Technology
Vix Technology provides simple solutions to complex problems for its customers, which facilitates an efficient and affordable public transport experience.
“What our platform does well is enable a seamless mobility experience,” Martyn explained. “That experience comes with a lot of technology to support it, requires a lot of capacity to build the infrastructure—all to enable the policies and the rules that are at the systems’ core.”
Like many long-term contracts, there is often a lot of funds tied up. When Vix Technology secured a contract with a North American local government for 15 years, with a significant upfront cost, and the need to provide a bond to secure the contract, additional funding was key.
Securing finance as a tech business
Operating in the technology sector, it proved challenging for Vix Technology to secure finance.
“Most insurance bond providers typically are not very comfortable with technology—they don't get it,” Martyn said. “It was quite nice to get to talk to Export Finance Australia and take them on the journey about the business and what we needed for them to then consider that it was a solution that was worthwhile investing in and taking seriously.”
We provided Vix Technology with a US$2.5 million bond facility, which enabled the business to continue to invest, rather than have its working capital tied up for a performance bond for three years.
“$2 million worth of working capital goes a long way in a business,” Martyn highlighted. “If we didn’t secure the support from Export Finance Australia, that's essentially what we would have had to give up. That then influences our investment choices within the business and our ability to further invest in our product.”
Opportunities to expand
Looking forward, Vix Technology is seeing a lot of opportunities in North America due to the need to move away from cash, as well as in the UK following the government’s announcement to invest further into public transit.
“It's about continuing to keep our product current,” Martyn said. “It’s optimising, making sure we can deliver it as quickly and as cost-effectively as possible to our customers, as well as keeping up with passenger demands and providing a positive passenger experience.”
