The Western Union Company - the American company, specialising on granting of services of monetary intermediary. Western Union was founded in 1851. The company is one of leaders in the market of the international remittances. 1980 - for the first time in the history of Western Union revenues from money transfers exceeded the income from the telegraph service. In 1860 the U.S. Congress arranged among the telegraph companies a competition to create a national line. The winner was Western Union. Money transfer is a matter of minutes, at any distance. Payment systems are one of basic elements of infrastructure of e-commerce. In 1879 Western Union left the telephone business after losing a lawsuit against Alexander Graham Bell - the patent holder on the phone.