The United States Postal Service began selling money orders as an alternative to sending currency through the postal system in order to reduce post office robberies, an idea instituted by Montgomery Blair who was Postmaster-General 1861–1864. Money orders were later offered by many more vendors than just the postal service as a means to pay bills and send money internationally where there were not reliable banking or postal systems. Companies that now offer money orders include 7-11, QuikTrip, Cumberland Farms, Safeway, Western Union, MoneyGram, CVS, Wal-Mart, and 3T Solutions.