It's not run by a central bank and not mandated, but it "organically" became standard for banks and many vendors to support it. I hope they find a good way to combat fraud and the fee differential will make it more frequent for vendors to offer a discount for cash/Interac (or an extra charge for credit cards). It used to be common, then got banned, and is now allowed but uncommon. I for one don't really want to use an American credit card, but the fact that I get 1.5% cash back and fraud protection is a fairly strong incentive.