Every time you pay with a card in a store, cafe, or online, there is an invisible system behind it that processes the transaction in fractions of a second and takes a small commission for it.

These commissions, collected billions of times a day all over the world, create one of the most sustainable streams of capital in favor of the US currency. Visa and Mastercard control about 90% of the global payment card market, and almost all calculations in this system are carried out in dollars.

Even when a German tourist pays with a card in a Thai hotel, or a Japanese company pays a Brazilian supplier, the transaction is processed through American payment networks and denominated in dollars. This is another unnoticed support for the dollar that almost no one talks about.

Photo: © Belnovosti / shopping in a store. Author Vitaliy Kisterny

Why payment networks work in dollars

Visa and Mastercard are not banks. They do not issue cards and do not store customers' money. They manage the payment infrastructure: the network through which banks exchange information and conduct calculations. And this infrastructure is built around the dollar.

The reason is historical. When the first card systems were formed in the 1950s and 1960s, they were created in the US and worked in dollars. Today, sixty years later, this system has become a global standard. Visa and Mastercard process transactions in over 200 countries and territories, but their headquarters are located in the US, their shares are traded on American exchanges, and their calculation centers work through dollar correspondent accounts.

When an international transaction occurs, the money is not sent directly from the buyer's bank to the seller's bank. Instead, banks exchange obligations through correspondent accounts denominated in dollars. Even if the buyer pays in euros and the seller receives in yen, the chain of calculations often passes through a dollar link.

How payment networks create demand for dollars

Each international transaction involves several commissions: an interbank commission, a currency conversion commission, and a payment network commission. These commissions are denominated in dollars and paid to American companies.

Visa and Mastercard receive income from each transaction, and this income is converted into dollars. Their revenue for 2026 exceeds $60 billion, and a significant part of this money comes from abroad.

Moreover, banks that issue cards hold dollar reserves to ensure settlements, which creates additional sustainable demand for the American currency. Even when a European bank issues a card for a European client, it often uses dollar channels for international operations.

Who benefits from the dollar payment system

For the US, payment networks are not only Visa and Mastercard, but also the banks that service their accounts and the processing companies that handle transactions. JPMorgan, Citigroup, Bank of America - all of them work with payment networks. This creates additional flows of capital in dollars.

For the dollar, payment networks are a sustainable source of demand. Even if other factors weaken, people will always pay with cards. This makes the American currency more sustainable than one might expect.

For developing countries, payment networks are a challenge. Commissions for international transactions are paid in dollars, which puts pressure on national currencies and increases dependence on the American system.

What this means for the dollar

Payment networks are an inconspicuous but fundamental support for the dollar. They create sustainable demand for the American currency that is independent of the Federal Reserve's rates or geopolitics. As long as the world uses cards, the dollar will receive support.

However, this support has a weak point. China is developing its own payment system, UnionPay, and Russia and Iran are creating alternative payment channels. Europe is discussing the creation of an independent payment infrastructure. If these projects are successful, the dollar's monopoly in payments may gradually weaken. But for now, competitors significantly lag behind Visa and Mastercard in terms of scale and coverage.

What this means for the ordinary person

If you pay with a card, you are already participating in this system. Every purchase abroad includes a small commission that is converted into dollars and supports the American economy.

For those who hold savings in dollars, payment networks are additional support. For those who work in the banking sector or fintech, it is an understanding of how global capital flows affect exchange rates.

What's next

The global payment card market will continue to grow. Digital payments are replacing cash, new markets are opening up, and cross-border trade is increasing. This means that demand for dollars in this sector will only increase.

For the dollar, this means it has another stable support that will not disappear in the coming decades. Even if other factors weaken, payment networks will remain a quiet haven for the American currency.

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