Western Union CO
The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Denver, Colorado.
Basic company information
Each field links to its source. Financial figures retain their reporting periods; background references are identified in the source list.
- Business sectors
- telecommunications industry; financial services; financial sector [1]
- Company / filing name
- Western Union CO [2]
- Headquarters location
- Greenwood Village; Denver [1]
- Founded
- 1856-04; 1851-04-08 [1]
- Legal form
- Delaware corporation [1]
- Leadership in background record
- Hikmet Ersek [1]
- Founders
- Hiram Sibley; Ezra Cornell; Samuel L. Selden; Jeptha Wade [1]
- Official website
- https://www.westernunion.co.id; https://www.westernunion.com; https://www.westernunion.com/ph/en/home.html; https://www.westernunion.it; https://www.westernunion.pl; https://www.westernunion.ru [1]
- Employees
- 11,000 · reported year 2020 [1]
- Annual revenue
- USD 4,835,000,000 · reported year 2020 [1]
- ISIN (reported securities)
- US9598021098 [1]
- CIK
- 1365135 [2]
- Country in background record
- United States [1]
- Symbols / exchanges
- WU (NYSE) [2]
Company positioning and business
The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Denver, Colorado. [3]
Founded 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 several other telegraph companies. It 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. [3]
After experiencing financial difficulties, it began to move its business away from communications in the 1980s and increasingly focused on its money-transfer services. It ceased its communications operations completely in 2006, at which time The New York Times described it as "the world's largest money-transfer business" and added that the company would remain as such due to the large number of immigrants wiring money home. [3]
Background text: Wikipedia contributors, Western Union. Selected introductory paragraphs, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Official filing data is cited separately.
Management and corporate governance
The Wikidata background record identifies Hikmet Ersek in the chief-executive role. This background entry is not an official confirmation of the current board or executive roster. [1]
Understanding company scale
Employees: 11,000 · reported year 2020. [1]
Annual revenue: USD 4,835,000,000 · reported year 2020. [1]
Financial year, securities and disclosures
Listed securities: WU (NYSE). Multiple symbols may represent different share classes or securities of the same registrant. [2]
Financial results and regulatory disclosures
No individual financial documents have been indexed yet. Open the source to consult company disclosures. [2]
Related entities and concepts
Frequently asked questions
When was Western Union CO founded?
Founded: 1856-04; 1851-04-08. The linked source provides the background record. [1]
Where is the headquarters of Western Union CO?
Headquarters location: Greenwood Village; Denver. The linked source provides the background record. [1]
Which business sectors are recorded for Western Union CO?
Business sectors: telecommunications industry; financial services; financial sector. The linked source provides the background record. [1]
Sources and review dates
- Wikidata — company background record (CC0) ↗
- Company identity and profile data ↗
- Wikipedia contributors — Western Union (CC BY-SA 4.0) ↗
Reviewed 23 October 2026. Financial periods and historical event dates are shown separately. Figures reflect their stated source dates; this page is not a live quote or investment recommendation.