The presence of Western Union Gold Card at the client greatly simplifies the process of further processing of money transfers of and reduces the operation time for the sending of money, as the "Gold Card" is a carrier of the personal information about the client. In October 2006 the company made an initial public offering of shares on the New York Stock Exchange, becoming independent from First Data company. One of the common kinds of money transfer is a transfer via the international system of Western Union. 1970 - a new service called In 1879 Western Union left the telephone business after losing a lawsuit against Alexander Graham Bell - the patent holder on the phone.