(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.
12-635.Determining amount of the money of certain contract claims.
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 sentenceFixes how to compute the payable amount when a contract measures a foreign-money obligation against a different currency, including a 30-day grace period after default before the bank-offered spot rate takes over.
Full Text of 735 ILCS 5/12-635
(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, must 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
Some contracts tie payment in one currency to the value of a different currency — a debt payable in local currency but pegged to the dollar, for example. Subsection (a) says that amount gets fixed on the conversion date, using the exchange rate then prevailing.
Subsection (b) addresses a variation: a contract that locks in a pre-default exchange rate. That locked rate applies only to payments made within a reasonable time after default, capped at 30 days. After that window closes, the bank-offered spot rate on the conversion date takes over, so a debtor can't stretch out a favorable locked-in rate indefinitely by delaying payment.
Subsection (c) heads off a predictable challenge: an agreement requiring the debtor's payment to equal a fixed amount of the creditor's foreign currency is neither usurious nor unconscionable merely because currency values move. But if unexcused delay leaves the creditor short of what the agreement promised, the court or arbitrator must amend the judgment or award to make up the difference.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is the payable amount fixed when a contract measures one currency against another?
Under subsection (a), that amount is determined using the exchange rate on the conversion date, the banking day before payment.
What happens if payment comes after a default?
A locked pre-default exchange rate applies only to payments made within a reasonable time after default, up to 30 days. After that, the bank-offered spot rate on the conversion date governs.
Is a currency-indexed payment obligation usurious?
No. Subsection (c) says a claim isn't usurious or unconscionable merely because it requires the debtor's payment to equal a specified amount of the creditor's foreign money.
What if delayed payment shortchanges the creditor because of currency swings?
The court or arbitrator must amend the judgment or award so the creditor receives the amount of foreign money the agreement specified, when the shortfall stems from unexcused delay.
Does the 30-day grace period after default apply automatically?
Yes, it caps how long a locked pre-default exchange rate can be used to compute payments; beyond 30 days, the current bank-offered spot rate applies instead.
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: currency-indexed contract Illinoisusury claim foreign currency clauselate payment currency conversion Illinoispegged currency contract default