Hire purchase

Hire purchase

1) Financial arrangement whereby a finance company pays for an asset (eg a vehicle) and the buyer repays the company the capital sum plus interest and administrative charges spread over a period of time (say two to three years).

In law the asset remains the property of the finance company until the final transfer payment has been made when it becomes the property of the buyer. Contrasts with pure leasing where, in theory, the lessor never owns the asset.

Source: David Lowe. The Dictionary of Transport and Logistics. Kogan Page, 2002. – P.116 (288 p.)