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Table of contents When is the One UI 9 release date? One UI 9 features you need to know Which phones are getting One UI 9 Samsung is rolling out One UI 9, its new software update built on Android 17. If you own a Galaxy phone or tablet, this update brings new tools for your camera, your lock screen, your security settings, and more. Here is what you need to know about the release date, the new features, and when your device will get the update. When is the One UI 9 release date? Samsung has already started testing One UI 9. The beta launched on May 12, 2026, for the Galaxy S26 series, and it is currently available in Germany, India, South Korea, Poland, the UK, and the US. The full version of One UI 9 debuts on July 22, 2026, at Samsung’s Unpacked event in London. Samsung will preinstall it on the new Galaxy Z Fold 8, Fold 8 Ultra, and Z Flip 8. If you own an older Galaxy phone, you will wait a bit longer. Reports point to a stable rollout for the Galaxy S26 and other eligible devices around September 2026. Samsung has not confirmed this date yet, so treat it as an estimate rather than a fixed schedule. If you live in South Africa or elsewhere in Africa, expect the update to arrive several weeks after it arrives in Korea, Europe, and the US. Samsung rolls out updates in waves, and African markets are usually not first in line. One UI 9 features you need to know One UI 9 does not change how your phone looks. It improves the tools you already use every day. Here are the features Samsung has confirmed so far, plus a few that leaked ahead of the official launch. A Quick Panel you can customise: Your Quick Panel now gives you more control. You can adjust brightness, sound, and your media player on your own instead of all together. You can also resize your media player into a small square without needing extra apps. A New Tape Tool in Samsung Notes: Samsung Notes now has a tape tool. You can cover part of a note the way you would with real tape, then peel it back when you need to see what is underneath. This works well if you are studying or hiding sensitive details. You also get new pen styles and a tool that automatically straightens your lines. Better multitasking with Samsung DeX: You can now move app windows between virtual desktops. You can also preview your desktops from the Recents screen and switch between them with one tap. New tools in Game Booster: While you play, you can change your screen resolution, pick your screenshot format, and monitor your FPS, CPU, and GPU. You do this without leaving your game. A Blue Dot for Location Tracking: Android 17 adds a blue dot that shows up when an app uses your location. Tap the dot in your Quick Panel to see which app is tracking you. You also get a clearer choice between sharing your approximate location and your precise location. Stronger protection against risky apps: Samsung is adding more safeguards to protect against harmful apps. Your phone can now warn you, block installation, or recommend you delete an app that looks suspicious. You also get a new menu that lists every app you sideloaded, so you can easily review or remove them. Text Spotlight for easier reading: Text Spotlight lets you tap on text to enlarge it in a floating window. You can change the font size and colours to make reading easier. One TalkBack for accessibility: Samsung merged its TalkBack feature with Google’s version. This means you get updates straight from the Play Store instead of waiting on Samsung. You also get a new Select to Speak tool that reads text and images out loud. A Call Log that shows every app: Your call log now shows calls from apps like WhatsApp and Google Meet, not just your regular calls. Samsung is also adding on-call context, so you can see recent messages or important dates about a contact while you are talking to them. Gemini Intelligence, coming later: Samsung’s biggest AI feature, called Gemini Intelligence, will not appear in the beta. Samsung confirmed it is coming with the new foldable phones. This AI can complete tasks for you, like booking something or drafting an email. It may only work on flagship devices, since it needs strong hardware to run. A few of these features are rumoured and could still change before Samsung finalises the update. Which phones are getting One UI 9 Samsung confirmed a wide list of eligible devices. Your update time depends on which series you own and where you live. Here is the full breakdown. Samsung is not bringing One UI 9 to the Galaxy S22 series or the Galaxy S21 FE. These phones have already received their final major update, One UI 8.5. Keep checking your software update settings as your wave approaches, since Samsung ties the exact date to your carrier and region. True scale demands moving beyond surface-level integrations to robust execution. We’ve filtered the noise out of Moonshot 2026, optimising the conference strictly for high-calibre connections between startup founders, global financial operators, enterprise leaders and individuals rewiring Africa’s technical frameworks.Get 20% off Early Bird tickets for a limited time.
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Accrue, an agent-led stablecoin fintech that operates in several African markets, has launched a banking platform for small and medium-sized businesses, in a move to capture rising demand for faster, cheaper cross-border business payments. Accrue Business allows businesses to hold, send, and receive stablecoins, collect international payments, and pay suppliers across borders using the same infrastructure that powers Cashramp, the company’s consumer remittance product. Businesses can create a stablecoin wallet, virtual US dollar and euro accounts, invoicing tools, virtual cards, and stablecoin-based payroll, allowing them to receive international payments, pay suppliers across Africa, Europe, and the United States, manage employee spending, and pay staff directly into on-chain wallets from a single platform, according to Clinton Mbah, co-founder and chief executive officer of Accrue. “We have seen a lot of success with individuals who haven’t had a reliable, affordable, and fast mobile money way for them to send money across Africa,” Mbah told TechCabal. “Businesses started asking for the same thing.” The launch comes as more African fintechs adopt stablecoin rails to solve cross-border payment bottlenecks for businesses. Africa’s cross-border payments market processed about $329 billion in 2025 and could grow to reach $1 trillion by 2035, according to a report by venture capital firm Oui Capital. As the market expands, fintechs such as Accrue are positioning stablecoins to route a significant chunk of those transaction flows. The startup joins other fintechs such as Grey, Flutterwave, and Raenest, which offer stablecoin-powered payment products that enable businesses to collect international payments, hold dollar balances, and pay suppliers across multiple markets, reflecting a broader shift in how fintechs are approaching cross-border commerce. However, Mbah said Accrue is taking a different approach. It is building on an agent network that already moves money across 15 African countries, using stablecoins as the settlement infrastructure, while local agents provide liquidity on both sides of a transaction. “If I’m in Ghana and want to send money to Nigeria, I’m matched with a Ghanaian agent who converts my Cedis into stablecoins,” Mbah said. “When I send the payment, another agent in Nigeria settles Naira to the recipient in exchange for those stablecoins.” Accrue does not provide the counterparty liquidity itself; its agents directly do, bypassing traditional payment intermediaries and banking partners. That model allows the startup to charge businesses about 1% for transactions, while US dollar payments incur about 0.5% or higher, depending on customer volume, according to Mbah. He noted that the startup retains about 85% of the processed margins, while the remaining 15% goes to the peer-to-peer (P2P) agents processing the transactions. Mbah added that removing banks and payment processors from the transaction enables Accrue to cap Cashramp fees at $2 regardless of transaction size. To reduce counterparty risk, the fintech manages a closed network of vetted agents with established track records on its platform. It matches each payment request to an approved agent, who supplies the liquidity needed to settle the transaction, according to Mbah. He said agents continue receiving transaction flows only if they maintain a strong settlement record. Much of that network grows through referrals rather than formal recruitment. Mbah said Accrue’s agents—typically people aged between 18 and 30 without formal employment—earn upwards of $150 monthly, depending on how much starting liquidity they bring to the platform. Existing agents, many of whom have built long transaction histories on the platform, frequently recruit family members and friends into the network. Mbah said those referrals make it easier for Accrue to vet new agents as it expands into new markets while keeping customer acquisition costs low. “They [agents] have no incentive to be bad actors because for them this is a serious livelihood,” Mbah said. “They know that if they continue processing transactions successfully, they continue getting orders, and continued orders mean they earn more.” Accrue also extends stablecoin credit lines to agents with a strong track record, allowing them to process larger transactions without holding the full liquidity upfront, Mbah said. “We look at agents who have been on the platform for a long time, completed thousands of transactions, and processed several hundred thousand dollars in volume,” Mbah said. “We collect data on their activity and utilisation, and that determines how much credit we extend to them.” The credit is repaid automatically as those agents process new customer transactions, he added. The model has fuelled the startup’s growth. Cashramp’s transaction volume nearly quadrupled between 2023 and 2024 before doubling again between 2024 and 2025, according to Mbah. While he declined to disclose exact payment volume, he noted that Accrue has processed between $70 million and $100 million in total transaction volume across its platform since launch, including stablecoin on-chain deposits, withdrawals, and foreign currency inflows and outflows. Cashramp accounts for between $30 million and $50 million of that volume. The startup is now extending that infrastructure to businesses. Accrue Business currently processes between $600,000 and $700,000 in monthly transaction volume across customers using its application programming interface (API), web platform, and recently launched mobile app, according to Mbah. The web platform has been live for about two months, while the API has supported business customers since 2024. The startup targets sole proprietors and small businesses that move money across borders regularly and remain underserved by larger financial institutions. Mbah said transactions currently top out between $150,000 and $250,000, a ceiling that reflects the businesses Accrue serves today. “We have merchants who serve customers across multiple African markets, and our ever-expanding Cashramp Agent Network perfectly caters to this challenge by providing agents on the ground who supply local currency liquidity,” Nureni Imam, Accrue’s head of business, told TechCabal. “Some of our merchants previously used traditional payment partners, but were limited by the number of supported currencies and the associated fees.” Accrue’s expansion strategy follows the same playbook that built its consumer business. The startup now has agents across more than 15 African countries, up from about seven before raising a $1.58 million seed round in January 2025. Mbah said Accrue’s deepest liquidity pools are
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Speed is a competitive advantage in Nigeria’s $2.1 billion digital lending market. Fintech lenders promise approvals in minutes, using automation to move borrowers from application to disbursement with as little friction as possible. However, Nombank, the microfinance banking subsidiary of Nigerian fintech Nomba, has taken a different approach after securing its licence in December 2024. Rather than approving loans within minutes, the lender said it deliberately takes between 24 and 48 hours to make a credit decision. Payment data powers much of its underwriting, but account officers still verify merchants before any loans are approved, sometimes through physical visits. That slower process, the bank says, has helped it keep its non-performing loan ratio below 1%, well below the banking industry’s average of 8%. “We want to give loans that will truly come back,” Seun Osunkeye, Nombank’s managing director, told TechCabal in an interview. “Most importantly, we are interested in businesses growing, merchants growing, and everyone being happy.” In April, Nomba and Globus Bank announced that their 18-month lending partnership had disbursed ₦21.3 billion ($15.45 million) to Nigerian businesses while keeping non-performing loans below 1%. Non-performing loans are loans that borrowers have stopped repaying, making them a key measure of a lender’s credit quality. A ratio below 1% means fewer than one in every 100 loans on Nomba’s books has fallen into default, suggesting the bank has kept bad debts unusually low even as it expanded lending. This is well below industry standards, where eight in every 100 loans fall into default. In its January economic report, the Central Bank of Nigeria noted that the industry’s non-performing loan ratio rose to 8.03% in January 2026, above the prudential threshold of 5%. Lending against cash flow Nombank’s lending model begins long before a customer applies for credit. Because it lends exclusively to merchants already using Nomba’s payment infrastructure, the bank has months of transaction data before it makes a lending decision. Osunkeye said merchants are typically expected to have processed payments on the platform for at least three months, allowing Nombank to observe how money flows through the business before extending credit. The bank notes that it analyses daily, weekly, and monthly transaction patterns flowing through merchants’ accounts, studying how consistently businesses generate revenue, whether sales fluctuate seasonally, and how stable their cash flow has been over time. Those patterns determine not only whether a merchant qualifies for credit but also how much the bank will be willing to lend. Osunkeye explained that the facilities are generally capped at about 20% of a merchant’s monthly inflows, and most are structured as seven-day, two-week, or one-month working capital loans designed to help businesses replenish inventory or meet short-term operating needs. Most of the loans disbursed go to retailers. “It is mostly in the retail segments. That is where we see this kind of need. If you are looking at the big guys, like big sectors, those are probably looking for expansion, but these other people, they just need to get one or two things quickly,” Osunkeye said. The bank currently lends between ₦50,000 ($36.26) and ₦1.5 million ($1,087.69) per customer, with an upper lending limit of ₦2 million ($1,450.25). Is your business eligible? Adjust your average monthly payment inflows to see your estimated working capital loan limit. Average Monthly Inflow ₦ Estimated Loan Limit ₦ 200,000 *Capped at Nombank’s maximum limit of ₦2,000,000. System Insight: Nombank strictly caps lending facilities at about 20% of a merchant’s monthly inflows. By enforcing this cap and utilizing account officers for 24- to 48-hour physical verifications, they have maintained a non-performing loan ratio of below 1%—substantially lower than the 8.03% banking industry average. Source: TC reporting, CBN Nombank’s strategy relies heavily on Nomba’s broader business model. As more merchants process payments through its terminals, the company gathers richer transaction histories, making it easier to assess risk and extend credit. Daily payment volume across Nomba’s platform has grown from about ₦7 billion ($5.08 million) in May 2025 to roughly ₦250 billion ($181.28 million) by May 2026, according to company figures shared with TechCabal. Why Nombank still knocks on doors Despite relying heavily on payment data, Nombank has taken a hybrid approach to its lending process, combining automation with human assessment. Before many loans are approved, account officers confirm that merchants are still operating, maintain regular contact with customers, and, where necessary, visit businesses physically before disbursement, according to Osunkeye. The MFB previously experimented with near-instant lending but concluded that transaction data alone was insufficient to assess repayment risk. “We tried ensuring customers could get loans in minutes,” Osunkeye said. “But you might assume you still have a relationship with a merchant even though the account officer hasn’t visited that business for a long time.” For Nombank, payment data identifies potential borrowers. Character profiling helps with the final lending decision. “So, for us, we prioritise 24 to 48 hours,” he said. “The account officer checks the merchant before we disburse the loan. Everyone is selling automated, quick loans, but that relationship is very important. Character is very important.” The process is slower than that of many fintech lenders, but Nombank believes the additional checks improve repayment rates and reduce credit losses. According to Gbemi Adelekan, president of the Money Lenders Association, digital lenders face severe structural and operational risks. “Such risk, including the exceptionally high non-performing loans, coupled with the high cost of technology in providing loans in minutes, allows money lenders to charge a little premium on their interest rates,” he told TechCabal. Scaling without losing discipline Nombank currently operates under a tier-1 microfinance banking licence, according to Osunkeye, limiting its operations largely to urban markets, and it must have a minimum capital requirement of ₦200 million ($145,025). The MFB is currently operating within the Ifo local government of Ogun State, a state that borders Lagos in southwestern Nigeria. The bank says it has disbursed about ₦500 million ($362,563) in loans so far this year after lending roughly ₦100 million ($72,512) throughout last year. It expects to
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