In February 2009 the company entered into an agreement with Fexco to acquire 100% of its shares for $ 159.9 million. In 1860 the U.S. Congress arranged among the telegraph companies a competition to create a national line. The winner was Western Union. In order to increase competitiveness and market expansion of its services, Western Union launched a program of loyalty Western Union Gold Card for customers, who has repeatedly made money transfers via Western Union. Leaving the idea of expansion into Europe, Western Union took up the expansion of services in the U.S. market. You do not need to open a bank account, so you can send or receive money in any of the 170 000 service points of Western Union around the world. Before transition to remittances Western Union company rendered services on sphere of cable communication. In 1849, Selden and Sibley, the founders of the future Western Union, created the New York State Printing Telegraph Company. Western Union provides consumers and businesses with fast, reliable and convenient ways to send and receive money around the world, to send payments and to purchase money orders. 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.