History Founding & expansion (1851–1866) 6.3 Connection to military intelligence.6.2 Money laundering and terrorist financing.5 Involvement in early computer networking.1.7 Public listing & international expansion (2006–present).1.6 Financial difficulties, bankruptcies & restructuring (1984–2006).1.4 Western Union International spin-off.1.3 Monopoly & decline of telegraphy (1881–1963).The company ceased its communications operations completely in 2006 and is now the second largest money transfer provider in the world. The company dominated the American telegraphy industry from the 1860s to the 1980s, pioneering technology such as telex and developing a range of telegraph-related services (including wire money transfer) in addition to its core business of transmitting and delivering telegram messages.Īfter experiencing financial difficulties, Western Union began to move its business away from communications in the 1980s and increasingly focused on its money transfer services.

The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado.įounded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the company changed its name to the Western Union Telegraph Company in 1856 after merging with a competitor.

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