Euro payments suffered the worst hit in 10 years last month amid the war in Ukraine, while Chinese-yuan transactions also declined as the US dollar remained dominant

• In March, euro payments accounted for 35.4% of market share as geopolitical turmoil and inflation concerns weaken the currency's appeal.
• China's yuan also declined as the country faces slower economic growth and stringent COVID-19 lockdowns.

During the month of March, the euro notched its largest percentage-point drop since 2011, and allocated the lowest share of global transactions in roughly two years, according to data from SWIFT.

In total, euro payments accounted for 35.4% of market share as the war in Ukraine and inflation concerns diminish the currency's appeal for transactions.

The global share for China's yuan also declined. As Beijing imposes stringent COVID-19 lockdown protocols, the yuan's share of transactions has fallen to its lowest point since November 2021.

Meanwhile, the dollar carried on as the most used currency for its 10th straight month, per SWIFT data, as businesses flock to the safe haven-nature of the greenback. It accounted for 41.1% of all SWIFT transactions, its highest proportion since April 2020, Bloomberg reports.

Still, experts have speculated if the dominance of the dollar is nearing its end, and whether the yuan could supplant it. The dollar's share of total global currency reserves has fallen to its lowest point in over two decades, according to the International Monetary Fund.

China has long advocated for its own currency to take on a larger role on the world stage, and even rolled out its digital yuan to its 15th city this month as part of its bid.

But skeptics say Beijing isn't ready to adopt the responsibility of being a primary global reserve currency, and that chaos in Chinese markets weakens the yuan against the dollar.

"I expect that the dollar will remain the most dominant currency in the world," US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said Monday. "We have the deepest, most liquid capital markets in the world. We have the world's most complex, significant economy."

This week, the value of the yuan slipped to a six-month low against the dollar, as economic pressure mounts in China.