In the Western Union in the 30s of the 20th century worked 14 thousand couriers delivering telegrams. Leaving the idea of expansion into Europe, Western Union took up the expansion of services in the U.S. market. In 1995, First Financial Management was acquired by First Data Corp. (the deal amounted to $ 7 billion), and Western Union Financial Services became a subsidiary of First Data. 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. In 1879 Western Union left the telephone business after losing a lawsuit against Alexander Graham Bell - the patent holder on the phone.