There are some reasons why your transactions may be denied.
Those are some of the reasons that could cause said rejection
- Invalid Business
- Monthly Limits
- Annual Limits
- Insufficient Funds in the Account
- Out of Hours
- Blocked Card
Invalid business
The law stipulates that in order to be able to enjoy your meal benefit, the establishment must offer prepared meals and must be financially registered within the restaurant market.
Similarly with the transport benefit, the law states that you can only enjoy this benefit if it is public and collective, which means that it must be affordable for the majority of society and that at least seven passengers can use it at the same time.
You may not be able to use your card because you have tried to make a purchase in an establishment that does not correspond to any of the benefits you have. Some of the most common examples are:
- Supermarkets: It is not possible to make purchases in supermarkets with the Dining benefit because they do not belong to the restaurant market.
- Airports: Restaurants inside an airport usually belong to the airport market and not to the catering market, which is the only one allowed by law.
- Hotels: While it is common for hotels to have one or more restaurants, they are usually all registered under the hotel market and not the restaurant market, which is the only one allowed by law.
- Ikea or El Corte Inglés: While it is common for hotels to have one to several restaurants, they are all usually registered under the shopping centre market and not the restaurant market, which is the only one allowed by law.
- Taxis/Uber/Cabify: These types of services do not meet the legal requirement of being public and collective means of transport.
- Bicycle services: The use of bicycles as a means of public transport is not permitted by law as it is not collective.
Important: the use of Cobee is only allowed in the Spanish Territory, this means that if you try to use your Cobee card in a Transport or Food commerce abroad, it will also be rejected as invalid commerce.
If a transaction was declined in the Spanish Territory, and you consider it is a mistake and complies with all the regulations, please contact us through this form telling us the name and address of the establishment, and we will gladly look into it for you.
Monthly Limits
It means that you have exceeded the monthly daily allowable exempt limit for Meal or Transportation Benefits. But don't worry, we are sure that next month is about to begin. Your available balance will return to its maximum and your consumption to its minimum (zero)
What is the limit for each benefit?
Annual Limits
The law states that you cannot spend more than 30% of your gross annual salary on flexible remuneration and that under no circumstances can your salary fall below the Minimum Interprofessional Wage (SMI), which is €14,000 per year.
The annual limit for meals is €2,420. The calculation is made for 11 months as annual holidays are taken into account.
The annual limit for transport is €1499.96. The calculation is made for 11 months as annual holidays are taken into account.
Insufficient funds in the account
The expenses you make with Cobee correspond to the current month. Therefore, the Cobee card is a debit card and, like any other card, it needs funds in the corporate account where the expense payments are coming from.
So, this means that your company account does not have sufficient funds to be able to cover its employees' transactions. In these cases we work with your company's HR team to resolve this as quickly as possible.
Out of Hours
The reason the transaction was not approved is because your benefits are set up, by your company, with a time limit and you have tried to make a purchase outside of it.
What is my Meal benefit usage schedule?
Blocked Card
Your physical Cobee card is switched off. In order to continue enjoying your benefits, you must turn it on by following these steps:
- Go to the "Profile" section.
- Go to the "Card management" section.
- Turn on your card.