Car loans and loans for the purchase of other consumer items such as washing machines, motorbikes and televisions fall into the broad category of consumer finance. Banks compete with a number of non-bank institutions in this segment such as stores, auto manufacturers and specialist consumer finance firms. A fast grwoing industry in hard economic times are payday stores poping up all over the place. Payday industry profits on high interest payday loans offered completely online or in brick and mortar businesses. Paydya loans should be avoided when it comes to purchasing consumer items.