Once you make the down payment and sign the contract, the item in question is yours, and you are obligated to pay back the entire loan. If you don't make the subsequent installment payments, you go into default on the loan, with all the negative consequences that follow. On the other hand, a deposit is a usually payment that indicates your intention to purchase but does not actually conclude the purchase. If you change your mind and decide not to buy, you lose your deposit but are (typically) not required to make further payments. This will vary from contract to contract, depending on the terms of the agreement, but the basic concept is that you make a deposit before you conclude a purchase, whereas you make a down payment as part of a loan for the entire amount of the purchase. Furthermore, "down payment" is closely associated in ordinary speech with large purchases by private individuals, such as buying a car or house. I can't say that companies never make down payments, but it is not a common phrase in business, at least in my experience. Then again, I'm neither a lawyer nor a purchasing agent; contract language is a complex and highly specialized field, so "deposit" and "down payment," like all the wording in any legal document, must be interpreted case-by-case. Individuals put down deposits, too, but the deposit is not part of a loan for the entire cost of the purchase and usually does not incur an obligation to make further payments if the prospective purchaser changes his mind. In short, you can't substitute "down payment" for "deposit" in the agreement you cite without changing the terms of the purchase. http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/down-payment-deposit.2017084/

Google rulezzz 1. A deposit is a remittance you do in advance, your $ are frozen on another account & you loose all power of disposition on your money but you remain the owner of this amount. The prupose of a deposit is to secure an operation. 2. A down payment is a fraction of the price you'd have to pay in advance ; if you finally don't make the transaction you get your money back ; which is not the case with earnest money (where you loose the sum if you don't complete the price).