Ch. 806: Judgment · Last amended 1991 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceSection 806.33 determines which currency is the proper money of the claim in a foreign-money dispute, deferring first to a currency the parties contracted to pay in, and otherwise applying one of three default tests based on the parties’ dealings, trade usage, or where the loss lands.
(1)Except as provided in sub. (2), the proper money of the claim is one of the following:
(a)The money regularly used between the parties as a matter of usage or course of dealing.
(b)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.
(c)The money in which the loss was ultimately felt or will be incurred by a party.
(2)The money in which the parties have contracted that a payment be made is the proper money of the claim for that payment.
Plain-English Summary
When the parties have not contracted for payment in a particular money, Section 806.33 supplies three default tests for identifying the proper money of a foreign-money claim: the money regularly used between the parties as a matter of usage or course of dealing; the money used at the time of the transaction under international trade usage or common practice for valuing or settling transactions in the particular commodity or service involved; or the money in which the loss was ultimately felt, or will be incurred, by a party.
Those default tests give way to a contract term. Where the parties have contracted that payment be made in a particular money, that money is the proper money of the claim for that payment, overriding the usage-based and loss-based tests that otherwise apply.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does a Wisconsin court decide what currency governs a foreign-money claim?
If the parties contracted to make a particular payment in a specific money, that money governs the claim for that payment. Otherwise, the court applies one of three default tests set out in Section 806.33.
What if my contract does not specify a currency for payment?
The court looks to the money regularly used between the parties by usage or course of dealing, the money used by trade usage or common practice for that kind of transaction, or the currency in which the loss was ultimately felt or will be incurred.
Does a currency named for pricing purposes always control the payment currency?
The section’s contract-based rule applies to money the parties contracted to pay in for a particular payment; the default tests apply except where such a contracted payment currency exists.
What does “the money in which the loss was ultimately felt” mean?
It is one of the default tests: the currency in which a party experiences or will incur the loss, applied when the parties’ course of dealing or trade usage does not supply an answer.
Does trade custom matter in picking the governing currency?
Yes. One default test looks to the money used at the time of the transaction, by trade usage or common practice, for valuing or settling transactions in the particular commodity or service involved.
Amendment History
History: 1991 a. 236.
Source & verification. Section text and official notes are
reproduced verbatim from the Wisconsin Statutes, published by the
Wisconsin Legislature (Legislative Reference Bureau). Last verified July 15, 2026.
· Official source
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