Today, Banco de Portugal launches a range of new services, which will be available to the public on the Bank’s website.

Área de Empresa

Área de Empresa (‘Corporate Area’) will be a dedicated communication channel, safe and free of charge, between Banco de Portugal and enterprises, providing both a range of services relevant to corporate business and the means to comply with the statistical reporting obligations towards Banco de Portugal.

This area is specifically reserved to enterprises on an individual basis and may be accessed with the same credentials as those used in the Portal das Finanças (Ministry of Finance website). It will include the following consultation services:

• List of credit liabilities
• Information on the prohibition of the use of cheques
• Enterprise and sector tables
• Qualified information on cash (reserved to professional cash handlers).

Within Área de Empresa, enterprises may also report their external transactions and reply to the international investment survey.

(Área de Empresa is only available in Portuguese)

Online consultation of the list of credit liabilities and information on the prohibition of the use of cheques

On Banco de Portugal’s website, households and enterprises may now consult the list of credit liabilities and information on the prohibition of the use of cheques.

The list of credit liabilities presents monthly information on each company’s borrowing from all credit institutions and other participants in the Central Credit Register.

Information on the prohibition of the use of cheques can be consulted in the List of Cheque Defaulters.

By accessing this online consultation service, it is possible to obtain this information, free of charge, in a quick, convenient manner.

Until now, in order to obtain this information, households and enterprises had to go to one of Banco de Portugal’s Lisbon or regional offices or send a written request, accompanied by the relevant documentation.

Given that this information is confidential and should only be accessed by whom it concerns, consultations require a valid authentication on Banco de Portugal’s website. In the case of households, this authentication may be processed using the Cartão de Cidadão (Citizen’s Card) and its PIN code or, when consulting the list of credit liabilities, using the same credentials as those needed to access the Portal das Finanças. For authentication purposes, enterprises must use the same credentials as those needed to access the Portal das Finanças.

Banco de Portugal in Lisbon or through its regional network will continue to provide consultation services in its offices or upon a written request.

New reporting system for the balance of payments

A new reporting system will be launched on 1 January 2013 regarding external transactions. This system has been recently regulated by Instruction of Banco de Portugal No 27/2012, in use of the powers conferred on the Bank by its Organic Law (Law No 5/98 of 31 January 1998) and by the Law on the National Statistical System (Law No 22/2008 of 13 May 2008).

The new system will complement the reporting of information by the financial system and will be key to compiling Portugal’s external statistics, namely on the balance of payments, international investment position and external debt, which is the responsibility of Banco de Portugal.

To this end, Área de Empresa has already available two statistical reporting services: external transactions and positions reporting and international investment survey.

Lisbon, 1 October 2012