In the 30's of the twentieth century, Western Union has become the world's largest telegraph company. Leaving the idea of expansion into Europe, Western Union took up the expansion of services in the U.S. market. In 1914 Western Union engineers invented the first payment card - a prototype of the modern credit card. 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. In 1849, Selden and Sibley, the founders of the future Western Union, created the New York State Printing Telegraph Company. In the 1910-1920 years. Western Union is actively engaged in researching, innovating in the field of data transmission.