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. 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. The size of the commission fee for the transfer is charged according to the Western Union tariffs and depends on the amount of money sent. In 1914 Western Union engineers invented the first payment card - a prototype of the modern credit card. The first offices of company were located in the Reynolds Arcade building in Rochester, New York. The sign above the main entrance to the building - Number of active holders of "Golden Card" of Western Union amounted to 9.5 million people worldwide.