(a) The money in which the parties to a transaction have agreed that payment is to be made is the proper money of the claim for payment.
§ 676.4.Proper Money of Claim
Title 8.5. Uniform Foreign-Money Claims Act · Enacted 1991 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 676.4 makes the currency the parties agreed on the proper money of a claim, and, absent agreement, sets a fallback order — the money the parties customarily used, the money standard for that kind of international trade transaction, or the money in which the loss was felt — for determining which currency governs.
Full Text of § 676.4
(b) If the parties to a transaction have not otherwise agreed, the proper money of the claim, as in each case may be appropriate, is one of the following:
(1) The money regularly used between the parties as a matter of usage or course of dealing.
(2) The money used at the time of a transaction in international trade, by trade usage or common practice, for valuing or settling transactions in the particular commodity or service involved.
(3) The money in which the loss was ultimately felt or will be incurred by the party claimant.
Plain-English Summary
Before a court can enter a judgment on a foreign-money claim, it has to decide which money the claim is measured in — and § 676.4 supplies the rule. If the parties to the transaction agreed on the money for payment, that agreement controls; the agreed money is the proper money of the claim.
Without an agreement, the court picks whichever of three fallback options fits the case: the money the parties regularly used with each other as a matter of usage or course of dealing; the money used, by trade usage or common practice, for valuing or settling that kind of transaction in international trade; or the money in which the claimant ultimately felt or will incur the loss.
Frequently Asked Questions
What determines the proper money of a foreign-money claim?
The money the parties agreed payment would be made in, if they agreed on one.
What happens if the parties never agreed on a currency?
The court applies whichever fits: the money regularly used between the parties, the money customary for that kind of international transaction, or the money in which the loss was ultimately felt.
Is choosing the proper money a factual or legal determination?
It's a question of law, under § 676.6(d).
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: proper money of the claim californiaforeign money claims act currency determination