Western Union has taken of 451st position in the rating Fortune 500 in 2009, having moved from 473rd line in 2008. In the 30's of the twentieth century, Western Union has become the world's largest telegraph company. In 1860 the U.S. Congress arranged among the telegraph companies a competition to create a national line. The winner was Western Union. Another invention of Western Union - time synchronization. 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. Payment systems are one of basic elements of infrastructure of e-commerce. One of the common kinds of money transfer is a transfer via the international system of Western Union. Western Union incomes for 2007 have made $4,9 billion US dollars, and the quantity of transactions has made 572 million. Before transition to remittances Western Union company rendered services on sphere of cable communication. In 1884 Western Union has become a joint-stock company and was brought to the stock exchange. The company has entered in the first American stock index Dow Jones.