About Us | Western Union

Our Mission

We make financial services accessible to people everywhere.

We build and offer easy-to-use products and services that bridge digital and physical to give customers choice, security, and reliability,
no matter where they are.

Technology Pioneers

From our earliest beginnings, we have advanced technology to connect people — always staying focused on bringing people closer to the places and loved ones that matter most to them, in good times and bad.

The 10-year-old Western Union Telegraph Company completes the first transcontinental telegraph line and begins carrying messages from one end of North America to the other.

The company introduces its money transfer service, enabling people and businesses to send and receive money anywhere along its extensive telegraph network.

The Dow Jones Railroad Average stock market index for the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) was created, with Western Union included as one of the original 11 companies.

Western Union offers the first Charge Card to consumers.

Western Union begins offering inter-city commercial microwave service, making it one of the world’s first wireless telecoms.

On Valentine’s Day, Western Union introduces the Candygram, including a box of chocolates along with a telegram.

America’s first, the WESTAR fleet of geosynchronous communications satellites begins operation, carrying Western Union telegram, mailgram, and Telex traffic. The company also leases bandwidth to other firms for video, voice, and data.

Having shifted its focus from communications to cross-border money transfer, Western Union becomes a publicly traded company on January 26. The next day, the company sends its last telegram.

Western Union offers money transfer services to every country on Earth except Iran and North Korea, combining a 500,000+ Agent retail network with a digital platform averaging 24 transactions each second.

In over 200 countries and territories

Serving millions of retail and digital customers every day

Payout available into billions of bank accounts and wallets worldwide

Hundreds of thousands of Agent locations around the globe

Our purpose

We build and offer easy-to-use products and services that bridge digital and physical borders to give customers choice, security, and reliability, no matter where they are, simplifying and empowering their financial lives.

WU Foundation

The Western Union Foundation’s mission focuses on creating economic opportunity for disadvantaged youth and people who migrate in search of stability and prosperity. This is achieved through strategic investments in nonprofits that provide scholarships for higher education, skill building for workforce readiness, and inclusion programs. Since 2001, the Western Union Foundation has invested more than $140 million across 150 geographies, helping millions of people worldwide.

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