International Services Surveys: BE-150, Quarterly Survey of Cross-Border Credit, Debit, and Charge Card Transactions

This final rule amends regulations of the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Department of Commerce (BEA) to set forth the reporting requirements for a new mandatory survey entitled the BE-150, Quarterly Survey of Cross-Border Credit, Debit, and Charge Card Transactions. The survey will collect from major U.S. credit card companies data on cross-border credit, debit, and charge card transactions between U.S. cardholders traveling abroad and foreign businesses and between foreign cardholders traveling in the United States and U.S. businesses. The BE- 150 survey will be conducted on a quarterly basis beginning with the first quarter of 2009. The BE-150 survey data will be used by BEA in estimating the travel component of the U.S. International Transactions Accounts (ITAs). In constructing the estimates, these data will be used in conjunction with data BEA is collecting separately from U.S. and foreign travelers on the Survey of International Travel Expenditures on the methods these travelers used to pay for their international travel, such as credit, debit, and charge card purchases, cash withdrawals, currency brought from home, and travelers' checks.