In order to increase competitiveness and market expansion of its services, Western Union launched a program of loyalty Western Union Gold Card for customers, who has repeatedly made money transfers via Western Union. July 3, 1884 the company's shares were included in the calculation base for the newly created stock index Dow Jones Transportation Average. In October 2006 the company made an initial public offering of shares on the New York Stock Exchange, becoming independent from First Data company. Western Union incomes for 2007 have made $4,9 billion US dollars, and the quantity of transactions has made 572 million. The Western Union Company is a financial services and communications company based in the United States. In October 1871 the company Western Union began to provide money transfer services, drawing on its own extensive telegraph network. In 1884 Western Union has become a joint-stock company and was brought to the stock exchange. The company has entered in the first American stock index Dow Jones.