Indonesia’s Gojek Closes $130M Deal For POS Startup Moka

On-demand ride-hailing startup Gojek – Indonesia’s most successful unicorn – has purchased the point-of-sale (POS) and payments aggregator Moka for about $130 million. The acquisition will make Gojek a major player in Indonesia’s digital payments space, Bloomberg reported on Thursday (April 23), citing sources. The news has not yet been announced to the public.

Moka provides POS and payments services in over 35,000 restaurants, coffee shops and retailers in more than 100 Indonesian cities. Using the Moka app, merchants can accept debit and credit cards or mobile wallets like WeChat Pay and GoPay. It also helps track sales, manage inventory, run loyalty programs and more.

The Moka acquisition – which has been in the works since 2019, the source said – comes in the wake of the ride-hailing giant’s $1.2 billion Series F funding round last month. The total raised from the round is over $2 billion, and has helped solidify Gojek’s place in Indonesia’s digital payments sector.

Aldi Haryopratomo, CEO of Gojek’s payments division GoPay, told Bloomberg TV that having a strong business foundation is important, both during a crisis and when the economy is booming. “We are very lucky to have secured the funding as a group, and we are in a position to execute it,” he said.

Digital payments are becoming more popular in the country as people try to avoid using cash during the coronavirus pandemic. Gojek’s executives and senior managers announced in March that they were going to donate 25 percent of their salaries over the next 12 months to assist their drivers and merchants.

Launched in 2009 by Nadiem Makarim, Kevin Aluwi and Michaelangelo Moran, Gojek has expanded to include a range of on-demand services, including payments. It has had nine funding rounds worth $4.5 billion and has made 12 acquisitions.

Rumors have been circulating since February that Gojek was in talks with Grab about a possible merger. A merger would create one of the world’s most highly valued startups, with Gojek valued at $9 billion and Grab valued at $14 billion.