In the 30's of the twentieth century, Western Union has become the world's largest telegraph company. In October 2006 the company made an initial public offering of shares on the New York Stock Exchange, becoming independent from First Data company. By 1861 Western Union telegraph lines entangled the whole America. It's time to explore Europe. The Western Union Company is a leader in global payment services One of the common kinds of money transfer is a transfer via the international system of Western Union. 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 has implemented the world's first telegraph money order. After a century money transfers have become a major source of income for Western Union. In 1914 Western Union engineers invented the first payment card - a prototype of the modern credit card. In 1991, Western Union has sold some low-profit division of the company AT & T, GM Hughes Electronics, and to some others. In the same year the company changed its name to New Valley Corp. Number of active holders of "Golden Card" of Western Union amounted to 9.5 million people worldwide.