In 1860 the U.S. Congress arranged among the telegraph companies a competition to create a national line. The winner was Western Union. Western Union offers one of the easiest ways for families and friends to send money and stay connected almost anywhere in the world. Western Union has several divisions, with products such as person-to-person money transfer, money orders, business payments and commercial services. Money transfer is a matter of minutes, at any distance. Payment systems are one of basic elements of infrastructure of e-commerce. One of the common kinds of money transfer is a transfer via the international system of Western Union. Number of active holders of "Golden Card" of Western Union amounted to 9.5 million people worldwide.