The balance of payments is a statistical statement that provides a systematic summary of economic transactions of an economy with the rest of the world, for a specific time period. The transactions are for the most part between residents and non-residents of the economy. A transaction is defined as an economic flow that reflects the creation, transformation, exchange, transfer, or extinction of economic value and involves changes in ownership, of goods or assets, the provision of services, labour or capital.
For countries compiling Balance of Payments Statistics in accordance with the 6th edition of the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual published by the IMF (BPM6) as indicated in metadata at the country level, transactions include: the goods and services accounts, the primary income account (income account in BPM5), the secondary income account (transfers in BPM5), the capital account, and the financial account.
For countries compiling Balance of Payments statistics in accordance with the 5th edition on the Balance of Payments Manual, transactions include: goods, services, and income; those involving financial claims on and liabilities to the rest of the world; and transfers.
Changes in BPM6 compared to BPM5 are often a consequence of a stricter application of the change of ownership principle in particular in the goods and services accounts. They relate to transactions on goods and services (merchanting, goods for processing, Insurance), income (investment income), and financial operations (direct investment).