In February 2009 the company entered into an agreement with Fexco to acquire 100% of its shares for $ 159.9 million. In the 30's of the twentieth century, Western Union has become the world's largest telegraph company. 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. Separation of the companies had two objectives: first, to give Western Union the opportunity to develop more intensively, and secondly, to help First Data to return to its original activity (in 1992 the company separated from the payment system of American Express as an independent financial services company). 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. In 1933, by the Western Union Company were invented "singing telegrams". In 1991, Western Union has sold some low-profit division of the company AT & T, GM Hughes Electronics, and to some others. In the same year the company changed its name to New Valley Corp. Sibley, the founder of Western Union, did not build a new telegraph lines, and persuaded the other players to join. American Telegraph Company, however, still had to buy it.