The Western Union Company - the American company, specialising on granting of services of monetary intermediary. Western Union was founded in 1851. The company is one of leaders in the market of the international remittances. Leaving the idea of expansion into Europe, Western Union took up the expansion of services in the U.S. market. 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. 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". Western Union incomes for 2007 have made $4,9 billion US dollars, and the quantity of transactions has made 572 million. In 1879 Western Union left the telephone business after losing a lawsuit against Alexander Graham Bell - the patent holder on the phone. In the 1910-1920 years. Western Union is actively engaged in researching, innovating in the field of data transmission.