In February 2009 the company entered into an agreement with Fexco to acquire 100% of its shares for $ 159.9 million. 1998 - the number of points of money transfers worldwide reached 50,000. The network of money transfers of Western Union is the world's largest. In 1860 the U.S. Congress arranged among the telegraph companies a competition to create a national line. The winner was Western Union. As a result of 2011, net income of Western Union has increased by 28% to $ 1.165 billion, the company reported. In the 80's of Nineteenth century, Western Union was repeatedly tried capture by the railroad tycoon Jay Gould. He worked with Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the first phone. The Western Union Company is a leader in global payment services In 1933, by the Western Union Company were invented "singing telegrams". In 1914 Western Union engineers invented the first payment card - a prototype of the modern credit card. The Western Union Company is a financial services and communications company based in the United States. In 1849, Selden and Sibley, the founders of the future Western Union, created the New York State Printing Telegraph Company.