PYMNTS asked industry executives across the payments and digital commerce landscape to give us their take on the pivotal shifts, technological advancements and strategies that have shaped business in 2023. Enigma Co-founder and CEO Hicham Oudghiri says artificial intelligence-forward financial and payments companies will build new experiences that give agency to the customer and continuously reduce complexity.
2023 was a volatile year and a refreshing dose of “welcome back to reality.”
The end of a zero interest-rate policy-fueled technology industry boom was supposedly written all over the wall. From the shockwave of constant industry layoffs to Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse, prospects looked bleak at the beginning of the year.
As the year went on, economic data kept getting slightly better “against all odds,” and a paradoxical narrative started to emerge. How could we not shake this feeling of a failing economy despite all the data pointing to the opposite?
For most of the year, financial institutions had prepared for the riskiest of environments as capital became incredibly constrained in the venture capital and credit markets. However, a story slowly emerged the who’s who of Wall Street had been raising large private credit funds to compete in an almost new economy of rising credit rates.
Stocks like Affirm came into 2023 with a nosedive but exited with true momentum. Large tech carried the market into a boom on the backdrop of momentous progress in artificial intelligence. ChatGPT grew to 100 million users in only two months, faster than any internet application in its infancy.
In the background, FinTech went back to basics and executed on becoming profitable. Although many growth-stage companies folded or saw their valuations dwindle, companies became healthier and more focused. A determined execution started to give confidence to a deflated tech sector and private investment activity picked up again in Q4.
This resurgence in the tech sector, underpinned by AI, is not just a rebound; it’s a renaissance. AI-forward financial and payments companies will build new experiences that give agency to the customer and continuously reduce complexity. From form fills and documentation to financial analysis and stress testing, AI will take over massive workloads. Risk management and fraud detection will reach new levels of precision, rapidly democratizing underwriting best practices and outcomes.
When it comes to 2024, a top playbook for Enigma is investing heavily into AI on one hand and continuing 2023 back to basics on the other. We build data products for the hungry algorithms powering this next-generation economy, from sales and marketing insights to risk analytics and compliance screens. Our business is run lean with a maniacal focus on the quality of insight we deliver to our customers. This foundation allows us to push the boundaries of our product by spending time innovating our technology and data.
Although the air still hasn’t fully cleared on the economic recovery (e.g. ballooning consumer and national debt or global macropolitical concerns), we are feeling excited more than ever about 2024. The pace of progress and innovation is exhilarating, and it’s a real thrill to be in the throes of it.
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.
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