In 1860 the U.S. Congress arranged among the telegraph companies a competition to create a national line. The winner was Western Union. Each money transfer is protected with control number, that allows you to track and to ensure prompt payment of money specified by you person. In April 1851 companions registered in Albany New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company (NYMVPTC), which included founded two years before New York State Printing Telegraph Company. In 2007 the company made 167.7 million transactions on money transfers between individuals and 404.6 million transactions between physical and legal persons. In 1914 Western Union engineers invented the first payment card - a prototype of the modern credit card. In 1856, in 7 years after the foundation of New York State Printing Telegraph Company, the company changed its name to Western Union Telegraph Company. In the 1910-1920 years. Western Union is actively engaged in researching, innovating in the field of data transmission.