1998 - the number of points of money transfers worldwide reached 50,000. The network of money transfers of Western Union is the world's largest. In 1860 the U.S. Congress arranged among the telegraph companies a competition to create a national line. The winner was Western Union. In October 2006 the company made an initial public offering of shares on the New York Stock Exchange, becoming independent from First Data company. In 1933, by the Western Union Company were invented "singing telegrams". In 1914 Western Union engineers invented the first payment card - a prototype of the modern credit card. Number of active holders of "Golden Card" of Western Union amounted to 9.5 million people worldwide. Western Union for more than 130 years provides money transfer services to its customers.