(a) If an amount contracted to be paid in a foreign money is measured by a specified amount of a different money, the amount to be paid is determined on the conversion date.
§ 676.5.Amount Paid Determined On Conversion Date
Title 8.5. Uniform Foreign-Money Claims Act · Enacted 1991 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 676.5 fixes the conversion date for computing an amount owed in one money but measured by another, allows a pre-default exchange rate to govern payments made within 30 days of default before switching to the bank-offered spot rate, and requires a court to correct a judgment if delay in payment shortchanges the creditor's specified foreign-money amount.
Full Text of § 676.5
(b) If an amount contracted to be paid in a foreign money is to be measured by a different money at the rate of exchange prevailing on a date before default, that rate of exchange applies only to payments made within a reasonable time after default, not exceeding 30 days. Thereafter, conversion is made at the bank- offered spot rate on the conversion date.
(c) A monetary claim is neither usurious nor unconscionable because the agreement on which it is based provides that the amount of the debtor's obligation to be paid in the debtor's money, when received by the creditor, shall equal a specified amount of the foreign money of the country of the creditor. If, because of unexcused delay in payment of a judgment or award, the amount received by the creditor does not equal the amount of the foreign money specified in the agreement, the court or arbitrator shall amend the judgment or award accordingly.
Plain-English Summary
When a contract promises payment in one currency but measures the amount owed by reference to a different one, subdivision (a) picks the conversion date — the point defined in § 676.1 — as when that amount gets calculated.
Subdivision (b) handles contracts that specify an exchange rate fixed as of a date before any default. That fixed rate only governs payments made within a reasonable time after default, capped at 30 days; after that window closes, conversion switches to the bank-offered spot rate on the conversion date instead.
Subdivision (c) protects a particular kind of arrangement — where a debtor's payment, once converted, is supposed to equal a specified amount of the creditor's foreign currency — from being challenged as usurious or unconscionable just because it's structured that way. But it also backstops the creditor: if unexcused delay in paying a judgment or award means the amount received falls short of the specified foreign-money amount, the court or arbitrator has to amend the judgment or award to make up the difference.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the exchange rate calculated for a payment measured in a different currency?
On the conversion date, as defined in § 676.1.
Can a contract lock in an exchange rate from before default?
Yes, but only for payments made within a reasonable time after default, up to 30 days; after that, the bank-offered spot rate applies.
Is an agreement requiring a specific foreign-money amount usurious or unconscionable?
No, § 676.5(c) says that structure alone doesn't make a claim usurious or unconscionable.
What happens if delay in paying a judgment shortchanges the creditor's specified foreign-money amount?
The court or arbitrator must amend the judgment or award to make up the shortfall.
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: conversion date foreign money judgment californiaexchange rate default foreign currency