balance of payments

noun

1. the difference between a nation's total payments to foreign countries, including movements of capital and gold, investments, tourist spending, etc., and its total receipts from foreign countries.

balance of payments

noun

1. the difference over a given time between total payments to foreign nations, arising from imports of goods and services and transfers abroad of capital, interest, grants, etc, and total receipts from foreign nations, arising from exports of goods and services and transfers from abroad of capital, interest, grants, etc

balance of payments

1. The relationship between the payments made by one nation to all other nations and its receipts from all other nations.

Notes

A nation whose payments exceed its receipts is said to be running an unfavorable balance of payments, which can affect the value of its currency in foreign countries. ( See foreign exchange .)

Word History and Origins

Origin of balance of payments¹

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

For balance-of-payments reasons, Japan closely controls its receipts and expenditures of foreign exchange.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• balance of trade
• bop
• trade balance
• trade deficit