history
For more than 150 years, the familiar signs of Western Union have stood as a trusted symbol for connecting friends, family and businesses around the world.
Known today as an innovator in financial services, The Western Union Company has become an industry leader in global money transfer with over 400,000 Agent locations in 200 countries and territories. From the roots of our signature telegram business, we expanded and evolved our services in 1871 to offer electronic money transfer. Today, Western Union offers money order, money transfer, payment and prepaid services. While the telegram is a memory, we continue a long history of connecting people around the corner and around the globe with financial services that are fast, reliable and convenient.
did you know?
1851
Western Union was founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company
1856
The company changed its name to Western Union in 1856 to mark the consolidation of several telegraph lines in what was then the Western-most reaches of the American telegraph system
1861
Western Union completed the first transcontinental telegraph line across North America in 1861
1869
The first successful stock ticker was introduced by Western Union in 1869
1871
Western Union introduced money transfer in 1871
1884
Western Union was one of the original 11 stocks included in the first Dow Jones Average in 1884
1896
In 1896, Western Union provided service to Europe, Northern Africa, North and South America, Australia and Asia
1914
In 1914, Western Union introduced the first consumer charge card
1933
In 1933, Western Union delivered the first singing telegram
1943
Western Union pioneered the first commercial inter-city microwave communications system in 1943
1974
The first commercial satellite in the U.S. was introduced by Western Union in 1974
1980
In 1980, revenue from the money transfer service exceeded telegram service revenue for the first time in Western Union history
1993
In 1993, Western Union introduced the first prepaid, disposable telephone card
2001
Celebrating its 150-year anniversary in 2001, Western Union expanded to more than 100,000 Agent locations worldwide
2006
In 2006, The Western Union Company handled 147 million consumer-to-consumer money transfers and 249 million consumer-to-business transactions