The US central bank is called the Federal Reserve Bank (commonly referred to as "The Fed"). The USD is the most traded currency in the forex market and can be paired with all other major currencies. Common names for the USD include the greenback, buck, green, dough, smacker, bones, dead presidents, scrillas, and paper.

Importance of the US Dollar The US Dollar is the most commonly converted currency in the world and is regularly used as a benchmark in the Forex market. As the dominant global reserve currency, it is held by nearly every central bank in the world. Additionally, the Dollar is used as the standard currency in the commodity market and therefore has a direct impact on commodity prices.

Dollarization of the USD Due to its international acceptance, some countries like Panama and Ecuador use the USD as an official legal tender, a practice known as dollarization. For other countries the Dollar is an accepted alternative form of payment, though not an official currency for the country. Multiple currencies are pegged to the US Dollar:

Country/Peg Rate

 Aruban or Dutch Guilder 1.79000

 Bahamian Dollar 1.00000

 Bahraini Dinar 0.37690

Barbadian Dollar 2.00000

 Belizean Dollar 2.00000

 Bermudian Dollar 1.00000

 Cayman Island Dollar 0.82000

 Cuban Convertible Peso 1.00000

 Djiboutian Franc 177.721

 Dutch Guilder 1.79000

 East Caribbean Dollar 2.70000

 Eritrean Nakfa 15.0000

 Hong Kong Dollar 7.80000

 Jordanian Dinar 0.70900

 Lebanese Pound 1507.50

 Omani Rial 0.38450

 Panamanian Balboa 1.00000

 Qatari Riyal 3.64000

 Saudi Arabian Riyal 3.75000

 United Arab Emirati Dirham 3.67250

Venezuelan Bolivar 6.30000