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The Balance of Payments survey is a data gathering exercise that collects information from resident entities on their transactions with the rest of the world.
A resident is an individual, enterprise, or other organisation that resides or intends to reside in Barbados either indefinitely or over a finite period of time (at least one year). However, medical patients from abroad, foreign students, diplomats, foreign military personnel, embassies as well as regional and international organisations are considered non-residents even though they may reside in Barbados for more than a year.
No, individuals do not need to complete the survey.
The survey collects information on income from non-residents (e.g. revenue from imports or dividends from foreign investments); payments to non-residents (e.g. payments for imports and interest payments to foreign lenders); claims on non-residents (e.g. loans to non-residents or ownership of shares in a foreign company); equity investments from non-residents (e.g. purchase of real estate or shares); and liabilities to non-residents (e.g. money and other assets residents owe to non-residents).
The information is used to produce Barbados' external sector statistics, which include the balance of payments and international investment position statistics. Ultimately, those statistics assist with macroeconomic management by providing policymakers with insights on the sources and uses of foreign exchange and a gauge of Barbados' exposure to the rest of the world.
Yes. Once you have received a BOP Survey form from the Central Bank of Barbados, your organisation is required to complete the form to best of its ability. Failing to do such makes the organisation liable on summary conviction to a fine of up to $10,000.
With Barbados being a small import-dependent economy, national policymakers need to have a firm understanding of the sources and uses of foreign exchange and the contribution of the rest of the world to domestic economic activity. The analysis of external sector statistics provides policymakers with these types of insights. External statistics are vital to the management of the Barbadian economy since they quantify and categorise transactions and positions between Barbados and the rest of the world. As such, they help to measure Barbados’ external vulnerability. In addition, the information collected is also used in the estimation of Barbados’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP).