In February 2009 the company entered into an agreement with Fexco to acquire 100% of its shares for $ 159.9 million. Leaving the idea of expansion into Europe, Western Union took up the expansion of services in the U.S. market. Separation of the companies had two objectives: first, to give Western Union the opportunity to develop more intensively, and secondly, to help First Data to return to its original activity (in 1992 the company separated from the payment system of American Express as an independent financial services company). Money transfer is a matter of minutes, at any distance. Thanks to cooperation with Western Union the Associated Press at the end of the XIX century took almost monopolistic position in the U.S. market news. Gold Card Loyalty Program Western Union