Balance of payments The current account and capital/financial accounts must balance, so current account + capital/financial accounts = 0. Current account: Balance of Trade - Trade in goods . So value of good exports - value of good imports - Trade in services. So value of service exports - value of service imports. Net investment income Net investment abroad, in the form of interest, profit, dividends, etc Net profit income, net interest income, etc Net transfers Transfers for which no good or service is exchanged such as EU payments, aid, remittances. Capital and financial accounts Capital account + financial account The value of change in ownership of assets, currency, etc . Records net change in ownership of foreign assets, flows of money associated with loans, investment and speculation. To have a current account surplus, a country must run a capital/financial account deficit and vice versa. This is because if you were for example impo