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In this guide
What does the error mean?
Cohere’s errors page says a 402 - Payment Required is sent when the account has reached its billing limit. It lists two messages you might see.
The first is about a cap you set yourself:
Maximum billing reached for this API key as set in your dashboard, please go to https://dashboard.cohere.com/billing?tab=payment to increase your maximum amount to continue using this API key. Your billing capacity will reset at the beginning of next month.
The second is about your payment method:
Please add or update your payment method at https://dashboard.cohere.com/billing?tab=payment to continue
They have different fixes, so read which one you got.
Your AI bill, with ernd
What could your AI bill earn?
Enter an amount from $0 to $100,000,000.
back a year at 4%
For US companies. No annual fee. Illustration based on AI vendor spend only. Rewards are points redeemable as cash back.
How do you fix it?
For the maximum billing message:
- Open billing settings in the Cohere dashboard.
- Raise the maximum amount for that API key.
- Retry. Or wait for the cap to reset at the start of next month, if the spend was a surprise and you’d rather look into it first.
For the payment method message:
- Open the same billing page.
- Add a card, or replace the one that’s failing.
- Retry the requests.
How do you keep it from coming back?
A per-key cap is a good guardrail, so don’t just delete it. Set it a little above what that key really spends in a month, and look at it again when traffic grows.
The payment version usually means a card expired or got declined. A card kept just for AI vendors makes that easier to spot. ernd is a credit card for US companies with 4% back on AI vendor spend and 1.5% on everything else. Request the card at app.ernd.ai.
The ernd card
Once your billing is back on track.
The card earns rewards on AI spend. It does not bypass provider quotas, fix account restrictions or change provider prices.
Request your cardThe ernd card is a credit card for US companies, with partners across the AI stack built in.
Common questions.
When does a Cohere API key's billing cap reset?
At the beginning of the next month, according to the error message itself. You can raise the cap in billing settings to keep going before then.
Why does my Cohere key say it has expired?
That's a 401, not a 402. Cohere's message asks you to create a production key at dashboard.cohere.com or to contact your Cohere representative.
What limits does a Cohere trial key have?
Trial keys are free but limited to 1,000 API calls a month, with lower rate limits than production keys. Going over a rate limit returns a 429, not a 402.
Sources & methodology
Checked . Providers change prices and terms; the linked official page is the final word. This guide is published by ernd.
ernd is run by Provenance Research Inc.