Hire purchase (frequently abbreviate to HP) is the legal term for a contract developed in the United Kingdom, and now found in India, Australia, New Zealand, and other states which have adopted the English law concept. (In North America, where the word hire most commonly refers to employment, the comparable system is called closed-end leasing.) In cases where a buyer cannot afford to pay the asked price for an item of property as a lump sum but can afford to pay a percentage as a deposit, a hire-purchase contract allows the buyer to hire the goods for a monthly rent. When a sum equal to the original full price plus interest has been paid in equal installments, the buyer may then exercise an option to buy the goods at a predetermined price (usually a nominal sum) or return the goods to the owner. In the United States, a hire purchase is termed an installment plan; other analogous practices are described as closed-end leasing or rent to own.