(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.
12-634.Determining money of the claim.
Article XII. Judgments - Enforcement · Part 6. Foreign Judgments and Foreign-Money Claims · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified July 20, 2026
In one sentenceSets the default rules for deciding which currency is the “money of the claim” when the parties haven't agreed, looking to their dealings, trade usage, or where the loss lands in the end.
Full Text of 735 ILCS 5/12-634
(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 the money:
(1) regularly used between the parties as a matter of usage or course of dealing;
(2) 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; or
(3) in which the loss was ultimately felt or will be incurred by the party claimant.
Plain-English Summary
When a contract specifies the currency of payment, subsection (a) makes that the money of the claim — no guesswork needed. The harder question is what happens when the parties never said.
Subsection (b) supplies three fallback tests: the currency the parties regularly used with each other, the currency that trade usage or common practice assigns to that kind of transaction, or the currency in which the claimant's loss was, or will be, felt. These tests aren't ranked in strict order; the section says a court applies whichever is appropriate to the case.
This section reaches beyond contract claims to any foreign-money claim, including one arising from a loss rather than a promise to pay, which is why the third test asks where the loss lands rather than what a contract says.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if the contract is silent on currency?
The court applies the default tests in subsection (b): the parties' regular usage or course of dealing, trade usage for that kind of transaction, or the currency in which the loss was ultimately felt.
What does “the money in which the loss was ultimately felt” mean?
It points to the currency in which the claimant absorbed the economic loss, which can matter for a claim that doesn't rest on a contract price at all, such as a tort claim.
Who decides the money of the claim, the judge or the jury?
Section 12-636(d) answers that directly: the money of the claim is a question of law for the court.
Does this section apply to torts as well as contracts?
Yes. The definition of “foreign-money claim” in Section 12-631 covers a claim for recovery of a loss, not only a contractual obligation to pay.
Can the parties' course of dealing settle the currency question on its own?
Yes, if they regularly used a particular currency between themselves, that usage is one of the tests a court applies when the contract itself is silent.
Amendment History
(Source: P.A. 86-1291.)
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Illinois Compiled Statutes, published by the
Illinois Compiled Statutes, Illinois General Assembly / Legislative Reference Bureau. Last verified July 20, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: default currency of a claim Illinoiswhich currency governs a claimForeign-Money Claims Act default rulemoney of the claim Illinois statute