Dale Laszig… Writer, Payments Industry Journalist

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s

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Track 1: without a doubt.

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I think it's the fact that the

bad guys are leveraging the same

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technologies that we are and they're

weaponizing AI automation, all of

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these really great technologies that.

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Like us, they're continuing to evolve

and, scale and change on a dime.

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I think that's probably the biggest

challenge that we're facing right now.

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just maintaining security.

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Welcome to Bridges to Excellence Podcast.

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Inspired leadership in

payments and fintech.

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Bringing you conversations

with payments most fascinating

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people on top of their game.

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Leaders, influencers,

experts, and innovators.

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Each weekly episode turns our

guest's wisdom into practical advice.

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Their personal journey starts now.

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are meant to inspire and challenge

you to explore your possibilities.

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Here's your host, Desmond Nicholson.

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In this episode, part of our expert

series, our special guest is Dale Laszig.

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Dale's journey in payments began

some 30-plus years ago, having a

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varied background in sales and sales

management for leading acquirers and

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original equipment manufacturers.

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Dale is the founder of DSL Direct

A payments industry consultancy

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focused on content development

in areas of Security Technology

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and best practices.

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Dale is also widely known as a senior

staff writer for the Green Sheet, a

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payments industry trade publication

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connects payments professionals.

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As a Payments industry journalist.

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Dale covers the technology, beat.

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Wherever or whenever there is

breaking news and emerging trends.

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It is from this depth and breadth of

experience that Dale will be taking

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us on her journey, sharing her unique

perspective on all things payments.

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Nevertheless, the question

remains, who is Dale Lasik?

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Really?

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Well, stay with us as you

are about to find out.

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Dale, welcome to our show,

and thanks for being here.

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Track 1: Thank you so much for having me.

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It's so great to reconnect with you.

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Desmond Nicholson: after these

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many years.

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it has to be, about 25 years ago

that we met somewhere around there,

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Track 1: Yeah, I was

right out of high school.

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Desmond Nicholson: I'm really glad

we were able to coordinate our

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schedules and make this happen.

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by the way, that was an

excellent coverage the recent

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Paytech Women Leadership Summit.

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I could actually feel the excitement.

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What was it really like there?

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Track 1: Oh my goodness.

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Thank you for mentioning that.

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It was such a fabulous, conference

and I had an opportunity to, check

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things out before it even went live.

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Because Anne Mendenhall, the Chief

Marketing Officer of PayTech Women reached

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out and asked me if I wanted to just

come in and have a look around before

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they officially opened the following day.

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And when I went there, I was staying

a block away because this was a sold

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out event and it was actually sold

out for months before it even started.

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Desmond Nicholson: Wow.

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Track 1: and, I stayed about a block away

and I ran over there and I saw everyone

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setting up and it gave me a unique

backstage view of some really fabulous

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women who were out-of box thinkers.

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They were just getting things set up.

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and I remember . Wendy Holiday, the

CEO actually came over and said Hello,

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and, they were under a lot of pressure.

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They were about to go live.

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There were a lot of

moving parts everywhere.

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People were unpacking boxes,

but there was such an energy

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and, there was so much love.

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And, of course the following

day, they absolutely crushed it.

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There were men and women, I mean

lots and lots of people, over

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620 attendees at this event.

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and the agenda was absolutely top-notch.

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It was very diverse, lots of different

content, basically for anybody, no matter

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where you are in the value chain, there

was something uniquely curated for you.

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And so I feel it took

inclusivity to a whole new level,

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Desmond Nicholson: incredible.

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Track 1: really, I'm very

proud to be a member.

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Desmond Nicholson: I'm sure you

are let's get right into it.

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Now, Dale, where did you go to school?

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Track 1: Okay.

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Well, I was already in the payments

industry when I was an undergrad at

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SUNY, the State University of New York.

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. and they offered a hybrid program, back

in the day they called it distance

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learning and I got my bachelor's from

them in what is now called Excelsior.

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And I got a master's a little

while later, from Argosy.

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Desmond Nicholson: Anything

to do with, journalism?

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. Track 1: Not directly.

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My master's was in management.

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and my bachelor's was in communications.

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I guess in a way it was, I didn't

know at the time that I would

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ultimately become a journalist.

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I

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Desmond Nicholson: It's

by accident, I guess,

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Track 1: right.

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Desmond Nicholson: Now, how did

you get into the payments industry

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Track 1: You know,

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Desmond Nicholson: you

it's probably by accident.

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Track 1: Oh, I answered

a classified ad back

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Desmond Nicholson: Okay.

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Track 1: in 89, and, I actually found it.

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It's amazing that I found it.

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and even my handwritten notes as I

was preparing for this interview.

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the ad said expanding.

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. Fortune 500 company seeks

aggressive, highly motivated service

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professionals in the LA area.

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Excellent communication, organizational

and analytical skills needed, called

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one 800 to schedule an interview they

didn't even say it was Brown Foreman,

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one of the earliest ISOs, they didn't

even say the company name, and I

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didn't even find out until I got there.

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But, that's how my journey began.

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Desmond Nicholson: So you went

through the interview process, what

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interested you, payments that industry?

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I.

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Track 1: I was given the, choice

between, selling merchant services or

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being what they called an installer.

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And I've always really been fascinated

by machines and technology, and I figured

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I already had some sales background

at the time and I just, I thought

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to myself, I can always get back into

selling, but wouldn't it be nice if

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I really understood the technology?

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And, that's what got me into it.

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And it was such a dream job, for a

young person because I got to go all

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over Southern California to some of the

best, restaurants and hotels and train

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their staff on how to use a Tranz 330

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Desmond Nicholson: Okay, so

that was, with Brown Foreman?

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Track 1: Yeah.

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And,

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Desmond Nicholson: probably a,

lot of people don't realize.

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Brown Foreman is a liquor distributor,

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Track 1: sometimes I would show up in an

appointment and they would mistakenly have

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the beverage director come out to greet me

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Desmond Nicholson: So,

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Track 1: the Brown Foreman Enterprises

really leverage that brand recognition.

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Desmond Nicholson: okay.

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they were at that time an ISO.

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Track 1: They were one of the first,

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Desmond Nicholson: what's the name of the

processor they were using at that time?

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Track 1: Transnet, which

later became, Payment Tech.

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Desmond Nicholson: Oh, okay.

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how have your prior, experiences at

companies like First Data Hypercom

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Verifone, to name a few have shaped

how you approach your work at the

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Green Sheet, particularly in your

chosen specialty, the technology beat.

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Track 1: Well, that's a great question.

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I think, having gone through it

myself, . It's just the ability to bring

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that direct experience to my writing.

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as someone who has really been

out there door to door selling,

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trying to solve problems in the

field, working with merchants and,

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managing high profile relationships

as I moved up in corporate life.

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All of that gave me such a rich background

to draw on in my writing, and it also, I

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feel it probably makes my writing a little

more relatable because I never really lost

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that feeling of just being in the game.

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Desmond Nicholson: Okay,

take us on your career path.

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now it's Brown Foreman, and I know you've

worked for you've worked for Hypercom,

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who knows, probably a few others.

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Take us through that journey.

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Track 1: it was just a great

ride from the very beginning.

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in the very beginning I was given

an opportunity as an independent

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contractor, and ironically, when I

look back at my whole entire career

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and I think all the way back to

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Even before we had internet or email,

my early days of being virtual meant

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phoning things in from a payphone

or leaving a detailed voicemail and

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copying other people on that voicemail.

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I think being from First Data, you

may remember, Audix, remember that

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voicemail system we used to use?

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that was,

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Desmond Nicholson: well.

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Track 1: yeah, so, even after I left First

Data, I still had a mailbox, which was

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really pretty fun, but all those things.

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So I started out in Southern California

and then had the opportunity to travel

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and open up the Tucson market and

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I was there for a few years.

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It was a very exciting opportunity

because I got into town and basically

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the entire town was dominated by

two banks by the time I left and

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went to do it all over again in

Denver, we were absolutely saturated.

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There were only a few accounts

in the entire town that

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weren't using Brown Foreman.

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And and then I went up and I

opened up the Denver market.

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And eventually, brown Foreman

was acquired by Nabanco.

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Nabanco was acquired by First Data,

and that's how I came into the First

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Data family, the original aggregator.

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that was a really exciting experience

because at First Data I became a

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relationship manager, but before that,

at Nabanco, I was a national trainer

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and I actually lived out of a suitcase

and I went to a different city almost

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every week, and I trained people.

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And I did that for a few

years and it was, great.

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I got to see the whole country.

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I got to meet a lot of incredible

people who are still in our industry.

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. And then, after a while, First

Data became so saturated that I

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couldn't even step out of my house

without bumping into someone else.

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I would try to sell a merchant account

and then somebody would call me and

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say, you can't touch that account.

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That belongs to CES.

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and, I just said, okay, so I

moved over to the technology side

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and that's when I began working

with equipment manufacturers.

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Dassault AT of America,

Hypercom, Verifone.

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and it was awesome because

I've always loved technology.

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Desmond Nicholson: Now, you discuss

any key emerging industry trends,

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or developments that you are

particularly excited about and how

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you see these trends shaping the

future of the payments industry?

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Track 1: Well, as a writer and somebody

who works with words, I think that.

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words are my biggest challenge

when I describe any kind of a trend

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because our industry is moving

so fast and words stand still.

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So when I look back at all of the things

that we were doing like 25 years ago

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and what we're doing today, it's a

completely different paradigm, but we're

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using the same words to describe it.

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And when I think about an emerging trend,

it comes in, it's a great disruptor.

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Everyone gets excited, and I think

I've really got a handle on it.

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But then it just keeps

morphing and changing like

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everything else in our industry.

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And I'll give you a couple of examples.

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You look at, banking as a service.

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And I just thought, wow, this is great.

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this is a subscription service

model that works really well

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that will help banking scale.

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And then all of a sudden retailers

are getting in the game and retailers,

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with their private label cards

are expanding depository services.

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And then you look at buy now pay later.

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And I just went, okay, that's a

great way to . help a consumer

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make a very big purchase until

it was so much more than that.

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It became a form of embedded finance.

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It became a way for a fast food

delivery service to create a

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subscription service model.

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And so at the end of the day, I

would just say, if you took all of

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these trends and you combined them

all into one great big mega trend.

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it would just be the fact that we

are always changing, evolving, and

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moving, and you just have to have

the right mindset to be in the game.

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for a writer, it's job

security for everybody else.

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It's a challenge and, it's

a highly competitive, space.

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Desmond Nicholson: Now

you mentioned a challenge.

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What do you think is the biggest

challenge facing our industry today?

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The payments industry?

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That is,

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Track 1: without a doubt.

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I think it's the fact that the

bad guys are leveraging the same

235

technologies that we are and they're

weaponizing AI automation, all of

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these really great technologies that.

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Like us, they're continuing to evolve

and, scale and change on a dime.

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I think that's probably the biggest

challenge that we're facing right now.

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just maintaining security.

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Desmond Nicholson: how, well is

the industry doing in terms of

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protecting data and stopping fraud?

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Track 1: Fido Alliance and that

stands for Fast Idea Online.

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They just had their annual

summit this week in Carlsbad,

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and I'm very happy to say.

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In fact, I have an article coming

out about this later today.

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they developed a replacement for

passwords called Passkey that enables

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you to log on to any device and

authenticate yourself once, and then

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just travel across multiple channels.

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And it's so much more

robust than passwords.

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We really need to . , reduce

our reliance on passwords.

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I think that's one very critical thing.

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another thing is, there's been some

talk about quantum computing attacks,

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and I've been following this very

closely and talking to experts in

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the, space, and I think, we really

need to change our perception.

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of quantum computing as something that's

10 years down the road because as some

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of these experts have very rightly

pointed out, it's actually here today

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operating in stealth mode and this

type of technology has the power to

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crack into public key infrastructure.

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So it's a very real and persistent threat.

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Desmond Nicholson: there's

no question about it.

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You're a prolific writer.

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What qualities rather do you

look for in sourcing and where

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do you find, your story ideas?

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Track 1: Oh, thank you.

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I'm very attracted to people

who share my passion for

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technology and industry trends.

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fellow geeks.

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and I think that the very point of writing

is not to reiterate what we already know,

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but to really shine a light on something

and see it in a very different way.

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And I'm very attracted to people who

are willing to take that ride with

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me and also, more importantly, share

from their own experience so that.

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, you know, there's all this talk right

now about chat, GPT, and at the end of

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the day, nobody can really replace the

personal stories that I'm privileged to

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access from the many very intelligent and

articulate people I interview every day.

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Desmond Nicholson: what role has

mentorship played in your success and

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does any particular person come to mind?

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Track 1: I've been so fortunate in

my career to have learned from the

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best, beginning all the way, back

with Ralo Flores, who, interviewed

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me for my role at Brown Foreman

and, encouraged me to go into sales.

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, even though I started out as an

installer, he was a great, influence.

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And then Shak Westerland, who was my

manager when I opened up the, Arizona

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Market, a, very inspirational leader.

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And and he encouraged me

to go on and open up Denver.

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And up there I reported to John Anderson.

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Another really great, mentor, a very

accomplished payments executive.

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And then when I moved into writing,

I was very fortunate to meet Laura

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McHale Holland, who was the Editor

in Chief at the Green Sheet and

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I am not gonna lie, it wasn't a cakewalk

for her to transform a salesperson

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into a professional journalist.

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But working with her really

helped me hone my craft.

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And, it was really the equivalent

of getting a master's in journalism.

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Just the opportunity to

work with her every day.

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And I'm very, blessed to have

her as an editor and a friend

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Desmond Nicholson: what are your tips

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Track 1: in seeking

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Desmond Nicholson: a

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Track 1: a mentor.

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when I think back to the early days

of First Data and I would watch you

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and other leaders on the big stage,

and I would think to myself, wow, they

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just seem so comfortable up there.

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You know, just relaxed and authentic

and in control and I would just say

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in general, if there's anyone you

can think of who you feel like I

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wanna be that person when I grow up.

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That's really great.

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Mentor and material.

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And even before I became a professional

interviewer, I sought people out

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and I interviewed them to learn more

about them and, how they developed

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. their are leadership qualities and

what are the things that really

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kind of motivate them and get them

excited, and that would be my advice.

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Desmond Nicholson: what are some of

the most important lessons you've

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learned in the span of your career?

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Track 1: oh, . I would just

think, accepting change

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would be the very big one.

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let's face it, we're in an industry

that was built on a moving platform.

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So if you're not comfortable with

that, better go work in a quarry.

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change is,

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Desmond Nicholson: just.

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Track 1: always, present.

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And, Whenever I feel stuck, I try to

figure out what's holding me back so

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that I can just move along and, change

and evolve alongside our industry.

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So I think the big one

is embracing change.

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Desmond Nicholson: Absolutely.

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Now, over the years, reflecting on lessons

learned in business life in general,

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Track 1: Mm-Hmm.

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Desmond Nicholson: what would

you tell your younger self?

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Track 1: Oh, the first thing I would

say is please write the names and dates

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on the other side of those photos,.

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' cause you'll save a lot of time later on.

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And then I would also say

rejection is not absolute.

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Rejection doesn't mean no, it

just means not now or not yet.

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Desmond Nicholson: Gotcha.

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Now, , what would you consider a low

point in your career and what was

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that like would you do differently?

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Track 1: I think the one time that I

really hit a low, I was out of work and

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it was the winter and I was living in

the country and I didn't try to fight it.

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I drank hot toddies.

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I threw logs on the fire.

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I wrote poetry and, and I just

kind of, I snuggled in and, I

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just didn't worry about things.

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I just kinda let everything go.

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And I remember my husband coming home

from work one day and I was mentioning

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to him over dinner that . . I had

received a call from a recruiter

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and I said, I'm not interested.

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And he said, call them back tomorrow,

. And that was the end of that little,

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episode, but it, was a much needed time

out and I'm not sure I would do anything

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differently because I think that a

good timeout is really very helpful.

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Uh,

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Desmond Nicholson: introspection.

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Now, conversely, what would you consider

to be your greatest accomplishment,

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even though your final chapter

in payments remains to be written

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Track 1: Oh, thank you.

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without a doubt finding my true

calling as a writer and being

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able to do what I love every day.

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Desmond Nicholson: Good.

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what aspect of your personality

do you think has been the

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most helpful in your career?

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Track 1: I think no matter what hat I

was wearing, the fact that I live in

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bizarro land is my, superpower because,

I look at things from every angle.

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I gravitate to other people who

think that way out of box thinkers.

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I would say that more than anything, just,

have the courage to just be yourself.

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Desmond Nicholson: Be authentic.

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Track 1: Be authentic.

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Yeah.

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Desmond Nicholson: over the time

you've been in payments, what

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are some of the major milestones

changes you've seen over the years?

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Track 1: Well, I'm, I'm fortunate to

have seen several decades of payments

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and I've seen a really big shift,

from the old hardware centric types

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of technology that we used to have.

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To today's very fluid and digital

technologies and, I actually think

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in a way that the early days of

hardware centric, POS devices and

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pin pads, that had to be securely

encrypted in a lockdown facility.

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It really reminds me of the industrial age

when you think back to Alvin Toffler, he

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Wave, and he talked about the, three waves

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of human progress, beginning with the

Agricultural age and then the Industrial

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age, and then, the Information age.

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and he wrote a book on the third wave,

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but his three waves were building

the internet, the app, and the mobile

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economy and the Internet of Things.

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And when I think about my three waves, as

I look at the payments industry, I think

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about . The first wave being dedicated

devices, the second wave being the app

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marketplace, and the third wave, without

a doubt, is embedded payments and finance.

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Desmond Nicholson: Given your career

experience and having a vast network

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of women in payments, what advice would

you give women navigating this industry?

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Track 1: Oh, I would encourage them to

come in because there's never been a

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better time, to be part of our industry.

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And we, we spoke earlier about

paycheck women, but I really think

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Desmond Nicholson: I.

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Track 1: that whole rebranding from

the original WNET into PayTech Women.

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and opening up membership to men

shows how far we've come as far as

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embracing inclusivity and diversity.

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I feel that we're in a very forward

thinking industry that values

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everyone's contribution regardless

of ethnicity rum, religion or gender.

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just come on in and be part of it.

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Desmond Nicholson: There is no question

of, your success in this industry, Dale.

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to whom much is given, will be required.

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How is this manifested in your life?

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Track 1: Thank you for saying that.

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I, really appreciate it.

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So I, feel the best way to

pay back the many people who.

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Have helped me in my career is to

pay it forward by helping others.

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And, to me that means being a

member of organizations that

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are moving our industry forward.

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And those organizations

are definitely ETA.

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I'm very proud to be a member and to

serve on the cybersecurity committee

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and, to cover so much, that goes on.

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with their advocacy and their

mentorship programs and to just be

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able to help amplify that, those,

initiatives and also Paytech Women.

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I'm very proud to belong to that

organization and I plan to get

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much more involved going forward.

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And I just feel that.

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Just by, working with people, helping

people, share their perspectives in

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the Green Sheet and other publications.

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Those are all ways that I can pay it

back because I've, been very fortunate.

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Desmond Nicholson: Very good, The

tagline in your LinkedIn profile reads,

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writing the next chapter in payments.

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Taking that literally should I

assume a book is in the works?

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Track 1: Oh, absolutely.

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I've been working on a book and I'm also

involved in several other book projects

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with colleagues and friends and clients.

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The lightning round bridges to

excellence, inspired leadership

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in payments and fintech.

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Desmond Nicholson: In this segment, I

pose the question and you respond with a

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single word or one sentence ready to go.

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Track 1: Go

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Desmond Nicholson: Okay.

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what does success mean to you?

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Track 1: Making a living,

doing what I love.

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Desmond Nicholson: What is the

best advice you've ever received?

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Track 1: Don't over prepare.

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Just go for it.

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Desmond Nicholson: What one book would

you recommend to our listeners and why?

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Track 1: I Love Me More by Jenna Banks

because self-love is not selfish.

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Desmond Nicholson: What is your

favorite quote in leadership

435

or otherwise that inspires you?

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I.

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Track 1: Okay.

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British novelist Catherine Aired.

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If you can't be a good example,

at least be a terrible warning.

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Desmond Nicholson: what is one

thing the people you work with

441

would be surprised to learn?

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Track 1: I'm studying Swedish.

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Desmond Nicholson:

Introvert, or Extrovert?

444

Track 1: Oh, 100% hybrid.

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I actually identify as both

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Desmond Nicholson: Okay.

447

What is one thing that has

you fired up right now?

448

Track 1: Oh.

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I'm gonna be going to Portugal

in December and I've never

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been there and I'm so excited.

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Desmond Nicholson: You love it.

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I've been there a

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Track 1: Oh, thank you.

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Desmond Nicholson: It's been fun.

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We've covered a lot today.

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And, any final word or

comments, before we wrap up?

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Track 1: I just wanna thank

you for this opportunity.

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It's really great to be in this

industry and, to share this with you.

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Desmond Nicholson: you're welcome.

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again, thanks for being on

our show and to our listeners,

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thank you for your time as well.

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And never forget, the more you expect

from yourself, the more you'll excel.

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You've been listening to Bridges

to Excellence podcast, inspired

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leadership and payments and fintech.

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Be sure to join us next time for more

conversations with another of your

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colleagues in payments and fintech.

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Insightful conversations in their

journey to excellence for transcripts

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and other materials covered on the show.

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Visit us at DesmondNicholson.

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com.