EDIFACT for BOP |
| Reporting BOP data to the BOP compiler is paper-based, but increasingly with electronic messages. Messages can relate to transaction data or survey data as appropriate. As for transaction data the messages cover separate transactions reported by customers via a commercial bank or directly to the BOP compiler as well as banks’ own transactions and customer transactions reported by banks to the BOP compiler; reporting by the BOP compiler to international statistical bodies is also done in electronic format. However, at the moment the message standards used are still in many cases national, because they are established by BOP compilers, BOP-sector specific. |
As the use of EDIFACT is spreading step by step - next to the trading sectors the banking community is getting into the act with EDI projects, nationally and internationally (SWIFT) - business administrations will increasingly be able to communicate in EDIFACT terms. |
| Business administrations are the source of BOP data. If these administrations increasingly use EDIFACT messages - and EDIFACT segments become integrated into these administrations - it would seem very efficient to use these segments or building blocks for reporting BOP data with EDIFACT messages. The use of this readily available information clearly saves costs. The change-over from paper-based reporting to reporting by electronic messages brings about even larger cost savings because manual work, with possible typing errors, is reduced to a large extent. |
| The banks too, which act as intermediaries in collecting BOP data, can save costs by using EDIFACT messages. This is certainly the case for banks which still handle paper forms. Cost saving is also possible in case banks already use electronic messages: EDIFACT is an international (UN) standard and can therefore be used in all countries for many applications. Being an international standard, EDIFACT can even stimulate the implementation of electronic data flows and thus also of electronic BOP reporting. Further, in the longer run the use of internationally exchanged EDIFACT BOP messages could save the banks (in a number of countries) the costs of collecting forms to be used for reporting external receipts. |
| Last but not least the BOP compilers see advantages in obtaining the BOP information by using EDIFACT messages. Quicker and higher-quality reporting will be the result. |