improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages a major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject . it may require cleanup to comply with wikipedia s content policies particularly neutral point of view . please discuss further on the talk page . april 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message this article contains content that is written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . april 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message moneygram international inc type public traded as nasdaq mgi industry financial services founded 1940 ; 76 years ago 1940 headquarters dallas texas u.s. key people alex holmes ceo larry angelili cfo pam patsley chairman products money transfers money orders official check bill payment services website moneygram.com moneygram international inc. is a money transfer company based in the united states with headquarters in dallas texas . 1 it has an operation center in st. louis park minnesota and regional and local offices around the world . moneygram is a public company and listed under the ticker symbol mgi . 2 moneygram businesses are divided into two categories global funds transfers and financial paper products . 3 the company works with individuals and businesses through a network of agents and financial institution customers . moneygram is the second largest provider of money transfers in the world . 4 5 6 the company operates in more than 200 countries with a global network of about 347 000 agent offices . 3 contents 1 history 1.1 travelers express 1940 1997 1.2 moneygram payment systems 1988 1997 1.3 moneygram international 1998 present 2 products 2.1 global funds transfers 2.2 financial paper products 3 controversy 4 philanthropy 5 alternative providers 6 see also 7 references 8 external links history edit moneygram international was a result of two businesses merging minneapolis based travelers express and denver based integrated payment systems inc. moneygram was initially established as a subsidiary of integrated payment systems and then became independent company before it was acquired by travelers in 1998 . 7 8 in 2004 travelers express became what is known today as moneygram international . travelers express 1940 1997 edit minneapolis based travelers express co. inc. was founded in 1940 . 4 a subsidiary of viad corporation it became the nation s largest provider of money orders before initiating a company reorganization plan in 1993 . 9 by the late 1990s moneygram payment systems had served customers at over 22 000 locations in 100 countries . 10 11 moneygram payment systems 1988 1997 edit moneygram was formed in 1988 as a subsidiary of integrated payment systems inc. 10 12 13 integrated payment systems was a subsidiary of first data corporation which was itself a subsidiary of american express . 7 in 1992 first data was spun off from american express and publicly traded on the new york stock exchange . 7 11 first data corporation later merged with first financial the owners of rival western union . 7 in order to approve the merger the federal trade commission forced first data to sell integrated payment systems . 12 in 1996 integrated payment systems the nation s second largest non bank consumer money transfer business became its own publicly traded company and was renamed moneygram payment systems inc. 11 12 in 1997 james f. calvano former president of western union became moneygram payment systems ceo . 10 moneygram international ltd. was established in 1997 by moneygram payment systems inc. a year after the company had gone public . 10 at the time when moneygram international was established moneygram payment systems owned 51 percent of the company while the other 49 percent was owned by the thomas cook group . 14 15 moneygram international 1998 present edit in april 1998 viad acquired moneygram payment systems inc. 8 16 for 287 million . 11 moneygram was then folded into viad s travelers express in minneapolis . 11 in 2003 travelers express gained full ownership of the moneygram network including moneygram international . 10 later that year viad spun off travelers express as an independent company . 17 in january 2004 and travelers express was renamed to moneygram international inc. 17 18 in june 2004 viad sold moneygram and it became a publicly traded individual entity . by 2006 moneygram international had expanded internationally to include over 96 000 agents in regions such as the asian pacific eastern europe and central america . 10 the company had also introduced additional services such as bill payment and online money transfers . during the financial crisis moneygram s shares fell 96 percent from 2007 to 2009 . 19 it lost more than 1.6 billion from investments in securities backed by risky mortgages in 2008 and the losses led the company to sell a majority stake to thomas h. lee partners and goldman sachs in exchange for a cash infusion . 20 during the drop u.s. bancorp shifted its money transfer services to western union . 21 the company began to see profitability again in 2009 . 21 amid moneygram s turnaround pamela patsley became the executive chairman of the company in january 2009 and was later named ceo in september of that year . 22 23 in november 2010 moneygram officially relocated its global headquarters to the city of dallas texas . 19 23 the company continues to maintain global operations and information technology centers in minneapolis minnesota . 19 moneygram has closed a global customer care operations center in lakewood co resulting in over 500 layoffs . furthermore moneygram closed its 376 person brooklyn center operation in 2015 . 24 moneygram has offshored numerous positions to warsaw poland from its colorado and minnesota locations for additional cost cutting . 25 in 2015 the company s agent network in africa reached 25 000 locations including an agreement with the mauritius post office . 26 27 products edit moneygram products global funds transfers edit moneygram money transfer moneygram bill payments services allowing consumers to make urgent payments or pay routine bills to certain creditors . financial paper products edit money orders moneygram is the second largest money order supplier . 5 6 28 official checks moneygram offers official check outsourcing services which are available to financial institutions in the united states . official checks are used by consumers where a payee requires a check drawn on a bank and by financial institutions to pay their own obligations . controversy edit in november 2012 moneygram international admitted to anti money laundering and wire fraud violations . 29 moneygram services were used by unrelated parties involved in mass marketing and consumer phishing scams that defrauded thousands of victims in the united states . 30 as a part of the settlement moneygram created a 100 million victim compensation fund . 31 moneygram also retained a corporate monitor who will report regularly to the united states department of justice for a five year trial period . if moneygram fulfills its obligations under the settlement prosecutors will seek dismissal of the charges of aiding and abetting wire fraud . 31 moneygram also terminated any agents complicit in the 2009 scams and invested more than 84 million in improvements to the company s consumer anti fraud systems and consumer awareness education . 30 in february 2015 moneygram assisted a local houston reporter in shutting down a fraud scam after discovering a scheme that utilized an account with the company . 32 in february 2016 moneygram agreed it would pay 13 million to end a probe stemming from customer complaints that scam artists duped them into wiring funds via the money transfer service . the settlement with attorneys general in 49 states and washington d.c. includes 9 million for a nationwide fund that will facilitate the return of money to some moneygram customers and 4 million to cover states costs and fees according to numerous announcements by state attorneys general . 33 philanthropy edit moneygram launched the moneygram foundation in 2013 which focuses on distributing grants internationally to support education . 34 the moneygram foundation distributed grants in 19 countries in its first year of operations . 34 the foundation gets the bulk of its funding from moneygram international and builds on moneygram s previous global giving program . 35 through moneygram global giving made a donation of 100 000 to world vision international for education and school supplies and another donation of 30 000 for the girls exploring math and science program in dallas . 30 moneygram participated in relief aid following the 2010 haiti earthquake by reducing their fees to only 1 for any transactions to haiti along with a 10 000 grant to pan american development foundation and american red cross . 36 37 in 2012 moneygram contributed to hurricane sandy relief efforts by pledging to donate 1 per transaction up to 200 000 to the american red cross . 38 the foundation has also contributed to other relief efforts following events such as typhoon haiyan in the philippines . 39 the company has also participated in the one laptop per child initiative 40 and habitat for humanity through the moneygram foundation . 41 alternative providers edit ria financial services western union currencyfair the crypto currency bitcoin see also edit list of foreign exchange companies references edit steve brown 24 september 2010 . moneygram chooses downtown dallas for new headquarters . the dallas morning news . retrieved 11 december 2014 . moneygram international inc. . nasdaq . retrieved 11 december 2014 . a b about moneygram . moneygram . retrieved 6 january 2015 . a b moneygram remittance costs are just 5 % . bizcommunity.com . 8 february 2013 . retrieved 29 september 2014 . a b tara lachapelle ; brooke sutherland ; matthew monks 21 june 2013 . moneygram seen cashing in at decade high price real m & a . bloomberg . retrieved 11 december 2014 . a b moneygram claims bank status in tax dispute with u.s. irs . reuters . 27 may 2014 . retrieved 11 december 2014 . a b c d dash eric 27 january 2006 . western union growing faster than its parent is to be spun off . the new york times . retrieved 29 september 2014 . a b viad raises offer to buy moneygram . the denver post . access date requires url help vrana debora 14 august 1993 . travelers express to reorganize close anaheim office . los angeles times . retrieved 29 september 2014 . a b c d e f greenland paul r. 2008 . tina grant ed . moneygram international inc. . international directory of company histories . 94 . detroit st. james press . pp. 315 318 . a b c d e steven lipin 6 april 1998 . viad of phoenix agrees to acquire payments firm for 287 million . wall street journal . retrieved 29 september 2014 . a b c first data spinning off moneygram unit . . the record . january 17 1996 . form 8 k . securities & exchange commission . retrieved 11 october 2014 . moneygram thomas cook form joint venture for . bloomberg . retrieved 11 october 2014 . form 10 k . securities & exchange commission . retrieved 11 october 2014 . vandeveire mary 29 may 1998 . viad buys moneygram for 219 m . the business journal serving phoenix & the valley of the sun . a b tom smith 22 march 2007 . 35 . moneygram international inc. . minneapolis st. paul business journal . retrieved 20 november 2014 . viad completes moneygram spinoff . phoenix business journal . 1 july 2004 . retrieved 20 november 2014 . a b c jennifer bjorhus 12 may 2014 . moneygram