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. In October 2006 the company made an initial public offering of shares on the New York Stock Exchange, becoming independent from First Data company. The Western Union Company is a leader in global payment services In 2007 the company made 167.7 million transactions on money transfers between individuals and 404.6 million transactions between physical and legal persons. Before transition to remittances Western Union company rendered services on sphere of cable communication. Number of active holders of "Golden Card" of Western Union amounted to 9.5 million people worldwide.