The top blog posts of 2019, 10-1

We’re halfway through our list of the best and most popular blog posts of 2019, which begs the question: what will take the number one spot?

Put down your Christmas crackers and pick up your phones because year-end list season is in full swing! As always, we’re here to bring you our top blogs of 2019, this time in the form of super-sized 20-entry list.

Yesterday, we brought you blog posts 20 through 11, and now we’re ready to unveil our top 10!

And don’t forget to come back tomorrow for our top 20 podcasts of the year!

10. Money and mental health: what more can we do?

It’s clear that money problems lead to mental health problems and vice versa. So how do we break the cycle. Sarah Kocianski lets us in on what’s left to do. Read more here.

UK banks are starting to wake up to the situation.

Sarah Kocianski

9. How to use behavioural design brilliantly

People’s unconscious cognitive biases affect how they use their money every day. Kat Matfield shows us three financial apps that use behavioural design to capitalise on these patterns. Read more here.

[These apps] help transform people from non-savers/sporadic savers into people who regularly put money away.

Kat Matfield

8. Why you should pay attention to challenger banks in Asia

Challenger banks dominate the fintech scene in the UK, but as Brandon Chung notes, technology companies like Alibaba and WeChat are offering a different model for growth in Asia. Read more here.

While the East and the West differ drastically in language, culture and infrastructure, the human need for services is universal.

Brandon Chung

7. Getting people management right: the burden of proof

Amid deadlines and delivery hurdles, it’s hard for people managers to lead their teams to success. Leda Glyptis shares some tips to help managers do right by their staff. Read more here.

The first rule of getting people management right is lead them to success. Deliver. Build a high-performance team that gets shit done.

Leda Glyptis

6. A look at Standard Chartered’s virtual bank in Hong Kong

This guest post from Deniz Guven, the CEO and Executive Director of Virtual Bank by Standard Chartered, looks at how the institution built on Smart Banking initiatives to defend against incumbents and disruptors alike. Read more here.

I believe the main value of banking will always be customer trust, which is deeply rooted in our 160 years of history in Hong Kong.

Deniz Guven

5. Fortnite and Fintech

Sam Maule tells us the big lesson banks need to learn from Marshmello’s headline-grabbing Fortnite concert (hint: it doesn’t involve doing the floss). Read more here.

Banks need to focus on becoming a part of the digital landscape rather than just dumping products onto it.

Sam Maule

4. Wealth is the next big fintech game changer

As apps like Robinhood and Acorns raise hundreds of millions in funding, Simon Taylor identifies five factors that could make wealth the next big thing in fintech. Read more here.

... It strikes me that a mass consumer wealth app isn’t the next big thing. It’s the current big thing.

Simon Taylor

3. Venture building with Jobs to be Done

Customers can be a fickle bunch, so Ryan Garner goes long to show us how Jobs to be Done can help companies tailor new ventures to suit to better suit consumer needs. Read more here.

Put simply, adopting Jobs to be Done thinking at the genesis of a new business will help create a culture built to succeed and grow.

Ryan Garner

2. 11 interesting things about Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency

From its announcement through to its regulatory hurdles, Libra certainly had an eventful year. Upon its announcement, Simon Taylor stayed on-brand and broke down 11 of its interesting features. Read more here.

This is a real ‘oh, shit!’ moment.

Simon Taylor

Don’t know if you heard, but we put out a documentary this year! To celebrate its release, 11:FS Group CEO David M. Brear recalled the fateful day Lehman Brothers collapsed and how the UK’s fintech sector grew from there. Read more here.

I believe the UK has the talent, imagination and determination to remain at the forefront of financial services innovation.

David M. Brear

There you have it: our top 20 blogs of 2019! Thanks for reading, and we look forward to bringing you more trends and insights in the new year!

Check back tomorrow for a countdown of the year’s top podcasts! And if you want to stay in the know about all the latest fintech news, subscribe to our weekly newsletter, Fintech in Five.