Western Union has taken of 451st position in the rating Fortune 500 in 2009, having moved from 473rd line in 2008. In the Western Union in the 30s of the 20th century worked 14 thousand couriers delivering telegrams. 1980 - for the first time in the history of Western Union revenues from money transfers exceeded the income from the telegraph service. In the early 60s Western Union has put into operation transcontinental microwave system of data transmission via radio waves, completely replacing the web of telegraph poles and wires. 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 2000 was launched the Web site westernunion.com, with which users from certain countries can independently transfer funds online. On the market was placed about 765 million of ordinary shares of the company. On the first day trading on the exchange the company's shares rose by 3.3% and the cost was $ 19.96. Number of active holders of "Golden Card" of Western Union amounted to 9.5 million people worldwide.