In the early forties of the 20th century, Western Union has used the first time a commercial intercity microwave transmission system. 1980 - for the first time in the history of Western Union revenues from money transfers exceeded the income from the telegraph service. The size of the commission fee for the transfer is charged according to the Western Union tariffs and depends on the amount of money sent. 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). In 1864, fearing the laying of long underwater lines, Western Union offered to carry out laying of telegraph lines to Europe through the Russian Alaska under the narrow Bering Strait and then to Siberia with branching in the major cities of Europe. One of the common kinds of money transfer is a transfer via the international system of Western Union.