Financial technology, or fintech stocks, have been some of the worst performers in the bear market. The industry has been hit extremely hard overall, as investors fear the effects of a recession on consumer spending, credit quality, small businesses, and more. And that's especially true of rapidly growing, but still unprofitable companies. 

Two in particular that look interesting right now are Bill.com (BILL -1.18%) and Marqeta (MQ -2.76%). Both are down by more than 70% from all-time highs, despite having excellent leadership and large growth opportunities, and could be worth a closer look for patient investors while inflation and recession fears are still lingering.

Short-term headwinds have caused this fintech to plunge

Bill.com is actually the best performer on this list, with shares only 72% below their all-time high. And a significant amount of this decline came recently, when the stock plunged by 25% after reporting its earnings.

The company, which offers business automation software to small and medium sized businesses (SMBs), reported an adjusted profit and revenue that significantly beat analysts' estimates, but its guidance for the current quarter was significantly lower than expected. In fact, Bill.com expects revenue to decline by about 5% sequentially (48% year-over-year), so it's not surprising the market is having a negative reaction, especially considering revenue in the last quarter grew by 66% year-over-year. That's a big deceleration.

While growth might slow down a bit because of economic headwinds, there's a lot to like about Bill.com from a long-term perspective. The business has a 131% net dollar retention rate, which shows that the 400,000 businesses using its product are finding excellent value. And with an 87% adjusted gross margin, Bill.com's profitability should grow quickly as it continues to scale. With over 70 million SMBs worldwide, there's still plenty of room to expand in the years to come. Management apparently agrees that Bill.com is an attractive opportunity, having authorized a $300 buyback plan. And that was before the latest drop.

Card payment solutions have a long way to go

It is gradually becoming more of an essential than a luxury for businesses to issue proprietary card payment products, and that's where Marqeta comes in. The company offers a card issuing platform that allows businesses to create and issue customized payment cards. Businesses of all sizes use Marqeta's platform, but DoorDash (DASH -3.96%), the company's largest customer Block (SQ -4.53%) and Affirm (AFRM -4.78%) are a few well-known examples that use Marqeta's technology.

Despite its stock down 80% from the highs, there's a lot to like about the direction of Marqeta's business. Unlike Bill.com, we won't get a look at Marqeta's latest numbers for another few weeks, but the numbers we do have look impressive. The business has scaled to nearly $170 billion in annualized payment volume on its card products, and gross profit increased 36% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2022. The company continues to roll out new products, such as a suite of banking products that allow ACH, instant funding, and direct deposit capabilities, essentially allowing customers to build their own banking ecosystems – not just payment cards.

It's also worth noting that founder Jason Gardner recently stepped aside as CEO, with tech veteran Simon Khalaf taking over the top spot. Khalaf has extensive experience as CEO of rapidly growing tech businesses and was previously a Twilio (TWLO -2.99%) and Verizon (VZ 0.98%) executive. In a nutshell, Marqeta has grown into a leader in its field, but with roughly $30 trillion in worldwide card payment volume every year, this could be just the beginning.

Be prepared for a roller coaster ride

To be perfectly clear, I like all both of these fintech stocks as long-term investments – not because I think they're necessarily going to rebound sharply in 2023. I fully expect some near-term volatility as inflation, interest rates, and a potential recession play out, so it's important for investors to be ready for some turbulence. But I'm confident that patient investors who buy and hold will be glad they did.