(1) 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.
806.34.Determining the amount of the money of certain contract claims.
Ch. 806: Judgment · Last amended 1991 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceSection 806.34 fixes the conversion date and exchange rate for contract claims where payment in one money is measured against a different money, and confirms that tying a debtor’s payment to a fixed amount of the creditor’s foreign money is neither usurious nor unconscionable.
Full Text of Section 806.34
(2) 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 for payments made a reasonable time after default, not to exceed 30 days. Thereafter, the bank-offered spot rate of exchange on the conversion date applies.
(3) 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 must, when received by the creditor, 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 to provide the creditor with the amount of the foreign money specified in the agreement.
Plain-English Summary
Section 806.34 deals with a narrow but recurring problem in cross-border contracts: what happens when a contract calls for payment in one money but measures the amount owed against a different money. Subsection (1) answers the simplest version of that question by fixing the conversion date as the moment for determining the amount due. Subsection (2) handles a more complicated arrangement, where the parties agreed to use the exchange rate in effect before a default. That pre-default rate keeps working only for a reasonable time after default, capped at 30 days; after that window closes, the bank-offered spot rate on the conversion date takes over.
Subsection (3) protects an agreement that ties a debtor’s payment, made in the debtor’s own money, to a fixed amount of the creditor’s foreign money. That kind of clause is not usurious or unconscionable merely because it guarantees the creditor a set foreign-money value. And if unexcused delay in paying a judgment or award means the creditor receives less than the foreign-money amount the agreement specified, the court or arbitrator must amend the judgment or award to give the creditor the full amount the agreement called for.
Together, these rules keep currency-conversion mechanics from becoming a loophole that shortchanges either side of a foreign-money contract, whether the shortfall comes from timing gambits around the conversion date or from delay in payment after judgment.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Section 806.34 decide what a debtor owes when a contract measures payment against a different money?
Under subsection (1), if the 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.
If my contract locked in an exchange rate before default, does that rate keep applying after I miss a payment?
Only for a limited time. Subsection (2) lets a pre-default exchange rate apply to payments made a reasonable time after default, but never more than 30 days. After that, the bank-offered spot rate of exchange on the conversion date applies instead.
Can a creditor enforce an agreement that ties my payment to a fixed amount of foreign money?
Yes. Subsection (3) states that a monetary claim is neither usurious nor unconscionable because the agreement provides that the debtor’s obligation, when received by the creditor, must equal a specified amount of the creditor’s foreign money.
What happens if delay in paying a judgment means the creditor gets less than the foreign money amount the contract promised?
Subsection (3) requires the court or arbitrator to amend the judgment or award to give the creditor the full amount of the foreign money the agreement specified, when unexcused delay in payment causes a shortfall.
Does Section 806.34 apply to every contract, or only to specific kinds of foreign-money contract claims?
It applies to contract claims of the specific type its subsections describe: those where an amount to be paid in one money is measured by a specified amount of a different money, or where a pre-default exchange rate is used. Section 806.36 (7) later refers back to claims of this type when setting the form of judgment.
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
Also known as: wisconsin foreign money contract conversionforeign currency judgment wisconsinexchange rate contract dispute wisconsinusury foreign currency agreement wisconsinconversion date foreign money claim wisconsin