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). Payment systems are one of basic elements of infrastructure of e-commerce. In 1914 Western Union engineers invented the first payment card - a prototype of the modern credit card. In 1879 Western Union left the telephone business after losing a lawsuit against Alexander Graham Bell - the patent holder on the phone.