In the Western Union in the 30s of the 20th century worked 14 thousand couriers delivering telegrams. America was on the verge of civil war and needed a reliable connection between the North and South. On the telegraph market of the USA at this time were operated with six large companies: American Telegraph Company, New York Albany and Buffalo Electro-Magnetic Telegraph Company, Atlantic and Ohio Telegraph, Illinois & Mississippi Telegraph Company, New Orleans & Ohio Telegraph Company, and the brainchild of Sibley & Co. - The Western Union Telegraph. Western Union offers one of the easiest ways for families and friends to send money and stay connected almost anywhere in the world. In 1877, starting from September, New York City residents began to have the opportunity to check the time on clock with the "time ball", located on the roof of constructed in the same year a new corporate headquarters - Western Union Building. 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). Payment systems are one of basic elements of infrastructure of e-commerce. The Western Union Company is a leader in global payment services In 2000 was launched the Web site westernunion.com, with which users from certain countries can independently transfer funds online. In October 1871 the company Western Union began to provide money transfer services, drawing on its own extensive telegraph network.