For instance the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia receive significant international income from financial services, while Japan and Germany rely more on exports of manufactured goods.
These invisibles are called 'transfer payments' or 'remittances' and may include money sent from one country to another by an individual, business, government or non-governmental organisations (NGO) – often charities.
Bank loans to foreign countries are also included in this category, as are license fees paid for the use of patents and trademarks.
In a similar way, a nation may also have a surplus 'balance of trade' because it exports more than it imports but a negative (or deficit) 'balance of payments' because, it has a much greater shortfall in transfers of capital.
However, relying on funds like that to support a trade deficit, is unsustainable, and the country may eventually require its currency to be devalued.