In 1860 the U.S. Congress arranged among the telegraph companies a competition to create a national line. The winner was Western Union. In 1935, Western Union has put into operation first intercity fax communication. In October 2006 the company made an initial public offering of shares on the New York Stock Exchange, becoming independent from First Data company. You do not need to open a bank account, so you can send or receive money in any of the 170 000 service points of Western Union around the world. In October 1871 the company Western Union began to provide money transfer services, drawing on its own extensive telegraph network. Western Union for more than 130 years provides money transfer services to its customers.