In February 2009 the company entered into an agreement with Fexco to acquire 100% of its shares for $ 159.9 million. In the early forties of the 20th century, Western Union has used the first time a commercial intercity microwave transmission system. America was on the verge of civil war and needed a reliable connection between the North and South. On the telegraph market of the USA at this time were operated with six large companies: American Telegraph Company, New York Albany and Buffalo Electro-Magnetic Telegraph Company, Atlantic and Ohio Telegraph, Illinois & Mississippi Telegraph Company, New Orleans & Ohio Telegraph Company, and the brainchild of Sibley & Co. - The Western Union Telegraph. 1980 - for the first time in the history of Western Union revenues from money transfers exceeded the income from the telegraph service. Western Union offers one of the easiest ways for families and friends to send money and stay connected almost anywhere in the world. In 1935, Western Union has put into operation first intercity fax communication. Leaving the idea of expansion into Europe, Western Union took up the expansion of services in the U.S. market. Most service points of Western Union work in the time convenient for customers throughout the week and throughout the year. In 2007 the company made 167.7 million transactions on money transfers between individuals and 404.6 million transactions between physical and legal persons. In 1914 Western Union engineers invented the first payment card - a prototype of the modern credit card.