Rent to own (RTO) is an informal term for a type of business which rents items, most typically furniture or appliances, with the conition that the item will be owned by the renter if the term of rent is finished, or that the lease can be converted to a sale for a nominal fee at that time. Since rent to own stores often do not require payment up front, they are popular with the poor, but between high interest rates and higher cash prices than other stores, they are more expensive (often several times more expensive) than buying the same item outright. This has caused the rent to own industry to be accused of predatory lending.