NBFC Moneyboxx comes up with muzzle tech to identify cattle uniquely

NSE-listed Moneyboxx Financial Ltd, a non-banking finance company (NBFC), has developed an in-house muzzle technology to identify each cattle uniquely. The NBFC is also carrying out a pilot project to speed up the process of issuing loans within 15 minutes, according to Deepak Aggarwal, the NBFC’s co-founder and co-CEO.  

“We are the second company to successfully develop this app with an AI model. We have 6 lakh cattle in our own portfolio,” Aggarwal said. Moneyboxx supports financial inclusion with tailor-made loans to micro and small enterprises.

Deepak Aggarwal, the NBFC’s co-founder and co-CEO

The unique identification of cattle is a significant development. Through this, it would be easy to identify the breed of the cattle and its lactating cycle. This will also help insurance companies, particularly in terms of innovation. 

Database to aid

Until now, ear tags were being used as an identifier for cattle, but insurance companies faced problems, as some of the owners used to cut the ear of the cattle that died. 

The technology has been developed over the past one-and-a-half years, and with Moneyboxx having a database of six lakh cattle, machine learning is also being used to identify the cattle, their age and other features. 

“On the technology side, we have developed multiple models. We are building our own LOS (loan origination software), which will be live by April,” said Aggarwal. 

How it works

This is how the technology works. The NBFC’s staff have an app on their mobile phones with which they take a photo of the cattle’s muzzle and another on the side. This will reveal the unique feature of the cattle. 

When a loan is given against the cattle, the unique id created through the app will be tagged to the borrower. 

 The staff takes a photo of the cattle again after a day or two, and if there is any difference, it will show up. The breed of the cattle can also be identified through their body structure. 

“Our AI model is learning to identify the age of the cattle as well. So, we will know if a cow or buffalo is in its fourth lactation cycle or fifth lactation cycle. So, it’s a better assessment of risk there,” said Aggarwal.

Help for insurance firms

The unique identification can be used by insurance companies, who can make use of it even when the cattle is sold to another person. “This unique ecosystem can help avoid any fraud either in the loan or insurance process,” he said, adding that it solves the biggest problem of identification of a cow or buffalo. 

Moneyboxx has provided cattle loans to 40,000 farmer families that cover these six lakh cows and buffaloes. The NBFC has added about 10,000 over the past year. Aggarwal said the cattle loans are unsecured, but the customer’s house is taken as collateral. 

The NBFC is now working on a pilot project with the Gates Foundation to speed up the lending process. Aggarwal said the Gates Foundation has appointed Exxon as its technical partner, besides roping in McKinsey and  Hollands Rabo Foundation. 

Working out monthly income

“They have developed a model and are running a pilot project. We have been working for more than six months now,” he said. Under the model, if a farmer has five cattle and an acre of cultivable land, the income generation capability is worked out. 

“We work on the monthly income of the cow in that region, then the expenditure for it every month and then we take the satellite data analysis of the crop grown on the land with records dating back to even five years,” said the Moneyboxx co-CEO.

Once details of the expected income of the farmer is worked out, the EMI capability is calculated. “We are testing this and are trying to combine with our Cattle AI app. We are getting some first-loss piece coverage of 3.3 per cent,” he said. This will ensure farmers will get loans in less than 15 minutes. 

Feature of lending

Moneyboxx will likely reach ₹1,000 crore assets under management in March this year, and hopes to raise it to ₹1,600 crore next fiscal. The NBFC’s revenue is about ₹250 crore.  

A feature of its lending is that paramedics from its branches visit cattle owners, who have borrowed, regularly to give advices on feedstock, free saplings of Napier grass, cut input costs and help vaccinate cows or buffaloes.  

The NBFC has expended to the south and slowly, a good part of its portfolio will be in the southern region. Lending against cattle makes up 60 per cent of its portfolio. 

Published on January 22, 2026