In the early forties of the 20th century, Western Union has used the first time a commercial intercity microwave transmission system. In 1935, Western Union has put into operation first intercity fax communication. Leaving the idea of expansion into Europe, Western Union took up the expansion of services in the U.S. market. Another invention of Western Union - time synchronization. In 2007 the company made 167.7 million transactions on money transfers between individuals and 404.6 million transactions between physical and legal persons. The Western Union Company is a financial services and communications company based in the United States.