Gojek acquires Indonesian POS startup Moka

Update (April 30, 10:30 am): This article was updated to include Gojek’s official announcement on the acquisition.

Indonesian tech titan Gojek has officially announced its acquisition of Moka, a local startup that provides businesses with mobile point-of-sale solutions. It did not disclose the size of the deal.

According to a statement, the two companies will combine their services to provide merchants with different solutions such as payments, food delivery, POS systems, and other tools.

Moka, which will be integrated into Gojek’s merchant ecosystem called GoBiz, will continue to operate as a distinct brand.

Photo credit: Tech in Asia Indonesia

Last week, it was reported that Gojek’s management has filed a notification to Indoensia’s Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) about the acquisition. According to the KPPU website, the notice was delivered on April 9, signaling that the deal occurred in March.

Based on the Indonesian government’s regulations concerning acquisitions, the commission must be notified no longer than 30 days from a transaction’s date of effectivity.

In August last year, a source close to Moka told Tech in Asia that the company was in talks with Gojek on a potential deal, which was expected to be worth over US$100 million. Bloomberg later reported in December 2019 that the transaction was approaching its close and could have a value of around US$120 million.

While Moka declined to comment on the matter, the company confirmed at the time that it had partnered with GoPay to bolster its offering. The startup also supports payments through Ovo, Dana, LinkAja, Kredivo, Akulaku, and WeChat Pay.

Additionally, Moka has also worked with peer-to-peer lenders KoinWorks, Taralite, and Modalku to provide its merchant partners with business loans.

Moka started off in 2014 by replacing traditional cash registers with a cloud-based system that runs on iOS and Android devices, targeting manually run mom and pop businesses. Since then, it has expanded to offer a suite of storefront solutions, serving over 30,000 merchants across Indonesia.