1998 - the number of points of money transfers worldwide reached 50,000. The network of money transfers of Western Union is the world's largest. In 1860 the U.S. Congress arranged among the telegraph companies a competition to create a national line. The winner was Western Union. Western Union has several divisions, with products such as person-to-person money transfer, money orders, business payments and commercial services. Most service points of Western Union work in the time convenient for customers throughout the week and throughout the year. The size of the commission fee for the transfer is charged according to the Western Union tariffs and depends on the amount of money sent. 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. 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). 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. The Western Union Company is a financial services and communications company based in the United States.