1998 - the number of points of money transfers worldwide reached 50,000. The network of money transfers of Western Union is the world's largest. 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). One of the common kinds of money transfer is a transfer via the international system of Western Union. In 1933, by the Western Union Company were invented "singing telegrams". In 1914 Western Union engineers invented the first payment card - a prototype of the modern credit card. In the 1910-1920 years. Western Union is actively engaged in researching, innovating in the field of data transmission. Number of active holders of "Golden Card" of Western Union amounted to 9.5 million people worldwide. 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.