Western Union has taken of 451st position in the rating Fortune 500 in 2009, having moved from 473rd line in 2008. In the early forties of the 20th century, Western Union has used the first time a commercial intercity microwave transmission system. As a result of 2011, net income of Western Union has increased by 28% to $ 1.165 billion, the company reported. One of the common kinds of money transfer is a transfer via the international system of Western Union. In 1914 Western Union engineers invented the first payment card - a prototype of the modern credit card. The Western Union Company is a financial services and communications company based in the United States.