They can't. Depending on how the chip is processed, the card number may or may not be transmitted at all, and if it is, it's encrypted so that RN can't see it. Rewards Network used to operate by being a man-in-the-middle where they check for registered card numbers when the charge is transmitted. With chip cards where the chip is processed (and not swiped), the actual card number is either not transmitted, or is encrypted, there's no way for them to tell.

Sending in receipts is a better than not having a program at all, because unless RN comes out with their own card processing system that they force the restaurants to use (which means chains will never join), there's no way around it.

In my case it is 100% warranted because what used to be seamless and automatic became a manual chore. Still, better than no rewards at all.

Except there are some RN restaurants where I have been inserting the chip card (not swiping) for a while and yet still every dine at those restaurants posts automatically just as fast as at swiping restaurants. (Though I still have to sign a receipt after using the chip feature of the card, and in fact I write in a tip, and the total with tip is the amount that posts.) So it is not as simple a problem as "read chip, cannot auto post".

What did you mean by "how the chip is processed"? Were you referring to signature vs offline PIN vs online PIN verification, or were you referring to card reader machines, or what?

I mean depending on the POS system that restaurants ultimately end up upgrading to. If the POS system doesn't work with the program, RN is really slow at realizing this to remedy it.

I'm only assuming this happens because this happened to me when a restaurant that I frequented changed POS systems. The new POS system integrated with a Square Chip Card Reader. I had to send in the receipts to get credit. I also noticed that there were no reviews after a certain date. After 4-5 months, RN finally removed them from the program. I went back and asked about it out of curiosity, and was told that they could no longer participate because their POS system did not work with RN.

The EMV shift (now a long time after the fact) is causing restaurants to change their POS equipment, which is affecting how things work.

It seems to me that RN should be a bit more pro-active about it. At the very least provide restaurants with a list of chip-capable POS systems that RN knows from experience work with it.

Actually, I've had NFC transactions count for iDine before (without me reading the DAN from my phone with an NFC reader first). Not having the real card number be transmitted in and of itself doesn't preclude participation in iDine.

2 more dines last week using Discover (with chip). Both captured within 48 hours, no issues. I am beginning to notice that if a restaurant is using Square or a similar setup, the dines usually capture.