As used in this title:
§ 676.1.Definitions
Title 8.5. Uniform Foreign-Money Claims Act · Enacted 1991 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 676.1 defines the twelve terms the Uniform Foreign-Money Claims Act uses throughout — including action, conversion date, distribution proceeding, foreign money, foreign-money claim, money of the claim, and rate of exchange — that give the rest of Title 8.5 its precise technical vocabulary.
Full Text of § 676.1
(1) "Action" means a judicial proceeding or arbitration in which a payment in money may be awarded or enforced with respect to a foreign-money claim.
(2) "Bank-offered spot rate" means the spot rate of exchange at which a bank will sell foreign money at a spot rate.
(3) "Conversion date" means the banking day next preceding the date on which money, in accordance with this title, is (i) paid to a claimant in an action or distribution proceeding, (ii) paid to the official designated by law to enforce a judgment or award on behalf of a claimant, or (iii) used to recoup, setoff, or counterclaim in different moneys in an action or distribution proceeding.
(4) "Distribution proceeding" means a judicial or nonjudicial proceeding for the distribution of a fund in which one or more foreign-money claims is asserted and includes an accounting, an assignment for the benefit of creditors, a foreclosure, the liquidation or rehabilitation of a corporation or other entity, and the distribution of an estate, trust, or other fund.
(5) "Foreign money" means money other than money of the United States of America.
(6) "Foreign-money claim" means a claim upon an obligation to pay, or a claim for recovery of a loss, expressed in or measured by a foreign money.
(7) "Money" means a medium of exchange for the payment of obligations or a store of value authorized or adopted by a government or by intergovernmental agreement.
(9) "Person" means an individual, a corporation, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, joint venture, partnership, association, two or more persons having a joint or common interest, or any other legal or commercial entity.
(10) "Rate of exchange" means the rate at which money of one country may be converted into money of another country in a free financial market convenient to or reasonably usable by a person obligated to pay or to state a rate of conversion. If separate rates of exchange apply to different kinds of transactions, the term means the rate applicable to the particular transaction giving rise to the foreign-money claim.
(11) "Spot rate" means the rate of exchange at which foreign money is sold by a bank or other dealer in foreign exchange for immediate or next day availability or for settlement by immediate payment in cash or equivalent, by charge to an account, or by an agreed delayed settlement not exceeding two days.
(12) "State" means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
Plain-English Summary
Every uniform act needs a shared vocabulary, and § 676.1 supplies this one's. A few definitions carry the most weight elsewhere in the title. "Conversion date" is the banking day before money is paid to a claimant, paid to an enforcement official, or used to recoup, setoff, or counterclaim in a different currency — a date that shows up throughout §§ 676.5 through 676.11 whenever the Act needs to pick a fixed exchange rate. "Foreign money" is any money other than money of the United States, and a "foreign-money claim" is a claim on an obligation to pay, or for a loss, that's expressed or measured in that foreign money.
"Distribution proceeding" reaches beyond ordinary lawsuits to cover accountings, assignments for the benefit of creditors, foreclosures, corporate liquidations, and estate or trust distributions — anywhere a fund gets divided up and a foreign-money claim is part of the mix. "Rate of exchange" and "spot rate" define how currency conversion gets measured, including the recognition that different transactions can carry different applicable rates.
The remaining definitions — "action," "bank-offered spot rate," "money," "money of the claim," "person," and "state" — round out the terms the rest of this title relies on without redefining them section by section.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a "foreign-money claim" under this Act?
A claim on an obligation to pay, or for recovery of a loss, that's expressed in or measured by a foreign currency.
What does "conversion date" mean?
The banking day before money is paid to a claimant or enforcement official, or used to recoup, setoff, or counterclaim in a different currency.
What counts as a "distribution proceeding"?
A judicial or nonjudicial proceeding distributing a fund, including accountings, assignments for the benefit of creditors, foreclosures, corporate liquidations, and estate or trust distributions.
Is a foreign country's currency the only thing that counts as "foreign money"?
Yes, "foreign money" means any money other than money of the United States.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1991, Ch. 932, Sec. 1.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: foreign money claims act definitions californiaconversion date foreign money