SHIRLEY Leader, owner of Vel­vet & Rose women’s wear in Peters­field, has joined a growing number of small businesses, community organisations and charities backing Tele­graph Money’s Keep Cash cam­paign.

Last week, the news­paper launched a major drive to highlight the “urgent need to protect our physical currency, in light of retailers, restaurants and other businesses shunning cash in favour of cards and digital payments”.

More than 20 high-street names, including M&S and John Lewis, backed the campaign in week one – and this week smaller cloth­ing shops, cafés, independent department stores, gift shops and boutiques have also joined the pledge to accept notes and coins indefinitely.

Mrs Leader, who opened her boutique in Chapel Street in 2018, told the Telegraph cash was the preferred payment method for many of her loyal customers – and for that reason the death of cash should be a long way off.

She said: “A lot of my customers have cards but like to take money out each week.

“I don’t understand why other businesses would refuse customers from paying in cash – it is a valid way of paying.

“You would think it would be the other way round because of the cost and complexity of using card machines.”

Mrs Leader said she still spends hundreds of pounds a year on card-processing fees.

“As a business we have to try to absorb those costs,” she added.

Mrs Leader has more than 20 years’ experience in working with high-profile beauty brands such as Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, OPI and Max Factor, and has been interviewed previously in The Times and on the BBC.