## BPM7 Chapter 16/2025 SNA Chapter 22. Digitalization: Annotated Outline

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [BPM7 Chapter 16/2025 SNA Chapter 22. Digitalization: Annotated Outline](https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/data/statistics/bmp7/chapters/ao-sna-ch-22-bpm-ch-16.pdf)

## Other formats

- [Markdown version](/-/media/files/data/statistics/bmp7/chapters/ao-sna-ch-22-bpm-ch-16.pdf.md)
- [Structured JSON version](/-/media/files/data/statistics/bmp7/chapters/ao-sna-ch-22-bpm-ch-16.pdf.json)

---

### I. Introduction
- The annotated outline was prepared jointly to cover the full range of topics to be included in new SNA/BPM chapters on digitalization; drafting will include only issues relevant to external sector statistics in the BPM and only issues relevant to national accounts in the SNA.
- Objectives and scope:
  - Elaborate issues arising from digitalization that are touched upon throughout the manuals, providing consolidated definitions, explanations, and concise measurement guidance where relevant for products and business models in the digital economy.
  - Note the need to enhance visibility of digital products and activities in macroeconomic accounts, bring data assets inside the asset and production boundaries, and provide information on the value of free digital services without changing the definition of GDP.
  - Recommend updates to classification systems (for example, showing computer and information services as a first-level services category in the current account and additional “of which” breakdowns in the balance of payments) and compilation of thematic accounts (digital SUTs).
- Sources and guidance notes to be drawn on include GN DZ.1 (sections 1 and 2), DZ.5 (sections 1–4), and C.6.
- Chapter organization: Digital Goods and Services (Section II); Digital Platforms (Section III); Digitalization and the Financial System (Section IV); Measuring Prices and Volumes of Products affected by Digitalization (Section V); Analytical Tools for Measuring the Impact of Digitalization (Section VI).

### II. Digital Goods and Services
Cloud computing
- Define cloud computing and hosting services; discuss compilation challenges and data needs from replacement of on‑premises IT capital stocks by remotely accessed computing services.
- Guidance to include:
  - Determining economic ownership of IT assets.
  - Measuring own‑account investment in equipment.
  - Measuring cross‑border transactions in cloud computing services and foreign direct investment (FDI) associated with cloud computing, including foreign‑hosted IT equipment recorded on an ownership basis.
- Distinguish intermediate consumption of cloud computing services (linked to recommendations in digital SUTs) to improve measurement and user information.
- Address measurement of investment in long‑term licenses for software hosted in the cloud (drawing on GN DZ.8 and GN DZ.1).

Data assets
- Treat data assets as central to many firms’ value and operations in the digital economy.
- Define data as an asset produced by accessing and recording observable phenomena (OP).
- Provide guidance on:
  - Capturing gross and net investment in data assets, including cost of procuring the OPs.
  - Recording transactions in data copies.
  - Valuation techniques.
  - Distinguishing data investment from software investment.
- Recommendations expand the software and databases category of intellectual property products of the 2008 SNA (paragraph 10.109–10.114) and the SNA production boundary (drawing on GNs DZ.6 and DZ.4).

Artificial intelligence (AI)
- Increase visibility of AI by distinguishing AI software as a special type of software.
- Include intelligent systems in the expanded definition of intellectual property products (2008 SNA paragraph 10.98).
- Note that data assets are used to train and update AI software via machine learning (ML); consider boundary issues between AI software assets and data assets (drawing on GN DZ.7).

Non‑fungible tokens (NFTs)
- Define NFTs as digital records hosted on a blockchain associated with a digital or physical asset but distinct from that asset.
- Present a classification of NFTs into:
  - (1) NFTs that only grant personal use and display rights.
  - (2) NFTs that grant limited commercial rights.
  - (3) NFTs that grant full ownership rights.
- Provide guidelines on recording each NFT category, with recommended treatments as shown in GN DZ.10.

### III. Digital Platforms
Definitions and classifications
- Define digital platforms and distinguish them from non‑platforms (e.g., e‑tailers).
- Define digital intermediation.
- Identify three platform types:
  - (1) Non‑financial digital intermediation platforms (DIPs) that intermediate goods and nonfinancial services.
  - (2) Free platforms funded by advertising and collection of users’ OP.
  - (3) Financial DIPs that mediate funding or payment transactions (discussed in Section IV).
- Discussion draws on GNs DZ.9, DZ.1, and F.7.

Nonfinancial digital intermediation platforms (DIPs)
- DIPs generally receive fee income for facilitating transactions without taking ownership of transacted goods/services.
- Highlight challenges: delineating DIP services versus intermediated activity, prevalence of cross‑border transactions, and presence of informal suppliers.
- Present the “producer perspective” approach to recording transactions and implications for measurement of cross‑border transactions of DIPs (drawing on DZ.9 and C.4).
- Note update in SNA Chapter 7: definition of margin services (paragraph 6.21) will clarify that margin services exclude digital intermediation services that facilitate changes in ownership of goods.

Free digital platforms and free digital goods and services
- Explain inclusion of free goods and services bundled with marketed outputs in current‑price GDP.
- Present measurement framework for free platforms funded by advertising and creation of data assets from users’ OPs.
- Provide guidelines on open‑source software and implications for measurement of software investment when free software is bundled with priced services; include guidance on user‑generated content (based on GN DZ.3).
- Discuss price and volume measurement implications of free digital goods and services (referencing Section V and GN DZ.1).
- Recommend a supplementary extended account with an alternative treatment of free digital platforms funded by advertising and collection of users’ OPs (based on GN DZ.4):
  - Alternative treatment will reroute a portion of households’ spending on advertised products to become direct purchases of platforms’ free services.
  - Recommend inclusion in data assets of the value of user‑generated content that households produce with intermediate inputs of the platform’s free services.
  - Any costs of procuring households’ OPs by producing free services not already included in data assets will be added to investment in data assets in the extended account.
- Suggest supplementary information could include using adjusted prices to value bundled free and marked‑up items (where the price of the marked‑up item funds the free item) and adjusted prices for valuing investment goods subsidized by mark‑ups on associated supplies and services.

### IV. Digitalization and the Financial System
New financial services and means of payment enabled by digitalization
- Note appearance of new financial services and payment mechanisms due to digitalization.
- New/enhanced services fall within existing product/activity categories but can be shown as “of which” items if important and identifiable (drawing on GN F.7 and BPM7 Chapter 11).

Financial digital intermediation platforms
- Financial DIPs facilitate peer‑to‑peer lending, equity‑based crowdfunding, and philanthropic crowdfunding.
- Distinguish:
  - Financial digital intermediation services: platform charges fees for facilitating transactions between suppliers and users of funds (financial auxiliaries, S126).
  - Financial intermediation services: intermediary borrows from fund suppliers and lends to fund demanders (financial intermediaries).
- Financial DIPs generally receive explicit fees and are classified as financial auxiliaries, not financial intermediaries.

Fungible digital assets, including crypto assets
- Broad classification of fungible digital assets into:
  - (1) Those designed to act as a general medium of exchange (with and without corresponding liability).
  - (2) Other digital assets such as security tokens.
- Include a decision tree to distinguish different digital assets based on Annex II.1, GN F.18; note digital financial assets and crypto assets are partially overlapping categories.
- Provide definitions of various crypto assets and explain roles of distributed ledger technology (DLT) and blockchains in enabling decentralized payment clearing.
- Note that crypto assets can be broken down into fungible and nonfungible crypto assets; include a typology of fungible crypto assets based on Annex II.2, GN F.18.
- All fungible crypto assets meet the asset boundary.
- Classification principle: fungible crypto assets with a corresponding liability should be recorded as financial assets.
- Classification of fungible crypto assets designed to act as a general medium of exchange without a corresponding liability (CAWLM) and those designed to act as a medium of exchange within a platform or network without corresponding liability (CAWLP) is not yet decided; a user survey will be conducted in early 2023 and a decision will follow evaluation of responses to the survey.

### V. Measuring Prices and Volumes of Products affected by Digitalization
- Emphasize that many measurement challenges from digitalization concern volumes rather than current‑price output.
- Products/activities considered: ICT goods, software and data, cloud computing and other ICT services, DIPs, e‑commerce, and free platforms funded by advertising and data collection.
- Measurement issues include frequent introduction of new/improved products and product models, customization/variety, bundling, and e‑commerce.
- Methods referenced:
  - Quality adjustment techniques (hedonics, options pricing, producer costs).
  - Resampling (as defined in the Eurostat Handbook on Price and Volume Measures in National Accounts).
  - Unit value indexes for homogeneous items.
- Section assumes more depth in Chapter 18 of the 2025 SNA and draws on GN DZ.1, the Eurostat Handbook on Price and Volume Measures in National Accounts, and the Consumer Price Index Manual: Concepts and Methods (2020).

### VI. Analytical Tools to Increase the Visibility of Digitalization
Thematic account on the digital economy and extended account on free digital products
- An extended account for free digital products and a more comprehensive thematic account on the digital economy will help show the impact of digitalization.
- The thematic account would present alternative aggregations and additional detail developed in digital supply and use tables (SUTs) together with alternative measures of free digital products based on expanded production and consumption boundaries developed in the extended account.

Digital supply and use tables (digital SUTs)
- Provide guidelines for compiling digital SUTs to show the extent of digitalization by:
  - Adding rows that break out transactions that are digitally ordered or digitally delivered.
  - Providing a breakdown of digital products.
- Add columns on output, value added, and intermediate consumption for:
  - (1) ICT industries;
  - (2) Free digital platforms funded by advertising and data collection;
  - (3) Non‑financial DIPs;
  - (4) Firms dependent on DIPs;
  - (5) E‑tailers;
  - (6) Digital‑only firms providing financial and insurance services;
  - (7) Other producers operating only digitally.
- Identify priority indicators within digital SUTs, including value added of digital industries, intermediate consumption of digital intermediation services and cloud computing services, and digitally ordered transactions.
- Section draws on GN DZ.5 and Mitchell, J. (2021) "Digital Supply‑Use Tables: A Step Toward Making Digital Transformation More Visible in Economic Statistics", Going Digital Toolkit Note, No. 8.

Final schematic structure presented in the annotated outline:
- I Introduction: Definition of digitalization; scope; organization.
- II Digital Goods and Services: Cloud Computing; Data Assets; AI; NFTs.
- III Digital Platforms: Definitions and Classifications; Nonfinancial DIPs; Free Digital Platforms and Free Digital Goods and Services.
- IV Digitalization and the Financial System: New financial services and means of payment; Financial DIPs; Fungible Digital Assets, including Crypto Assets; Decision tree and typologies.
- V Measuring Prices and Volumes: Distinction between volume and current‑price measurement; digital products presenting challenges; methods.
- VI Analytical Tools: Thematic account; extended account on free digital products; digital SUTs.

---


_Source: https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/data/statistics/bmp7/chapters/ao-sna-ch-22-bpm-ch-16.pdf_