> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developers.dwolla.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Overview

> Dwolla Exchange Sessions API connects your app, open banking providers and user banks. Streamline onboarding with instant account verification and leverage Dwolla's pre-integrated solutions.

## Overview

This section dives into the process of leveraging Dwolla's Exchange Sessions API for Instant Account Verification (IAV) within your application. Dwolla's Exchange Sessions API enables you to leverage open banking providers to perform bank account verification in real-time, streamlining your onboarding process and improving user experience. An Exchange Session represents a generated IAV session that is established between Dwolla and integrated open banking service providers for the purposes of user bank account verification.

<Card title="Open Banking Overview" icon="book-open" href="/docs/open-banking">
  New to Open Banking? Get a head start with our comprehensive overview article before diving into the API details.
</Card>

### Exchange Sessions resource

| Parameter                    | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| ---------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| \_links                      | A \_links JSON object containing a collection of links to related resources including: exchange session, exchange-partner, and external-provider-session. The unique URL called "external-provider-session" is specifically designed to be embedded within your application, facilitating the Instant Account Verification flow.                                                                                                            |
| externalProviderSessionToken | A short-lived, one-time use token that is used to authenticate your application with the Plaid Link flow. The external provider session token grants access to Plaid Link for a specific customer Exchange Session. An `externalProviderSessionToken` is generated on your server by making a request to the [create exchange session for a customer](/docs/api-reference/exchange-sessions/create-customer-exchange-session) API endpoint. |
| created                      | ISO 8601 timestamp of when the exchange-partner resource was created.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |

```bash theme={"dark"}
{
    "created": "2024-03-25T17:13:38.430Z",
    "_links": {
        "self": {
            "href": "https://api-sandbox.dwolla.com/exchange-sessions/9b7fb629-0fad-44f4-8c5e-44c25a0bfa8e",
            "type": "application/vnd.dwolla.v1.hal+json",
            "resource-type": "exchange-sessions"
        },
        "exchange-partner": {
            "href": "https://api-sandbox.dwolla.com/exchange-partners/bca8d065-49a5-475b-a6b4-509bc8504d22",
            "type": "application/vnd.dwolla.v1.hal+json",
            "resource-type": "exchange-partner"
        },
        "external-provider-session": {
            "href": "https://int-widgets.moneydesktop.com/md/connect/lAfkc7m897s3t1ks9mmwyj4ry7Zq0xql4grzAg1kz77x7c9jrwls1t22w6xt8d2lsxx9zpqv30js3wswfdwcrpAsqgbAfkqwpksp7c2chsx167xy90Asfc67dkj9y48y8p142xw3yp4x5l9t9gkk6m3yk5vwsvyq2qq7w9trszxwdl14lmkg7l6949bn5n41chdkbnxycy40n9b6fkbdwl6qt5wl107k1x8srvlkpz325p412x9tkyA5clf39109lsfrgz2lkgsvntqf7l0zzwb5hl658gdjbxwhb52krwybnbdAqfq69cdy54l05jkvfwyf01q89x48jtgtx290lzjdfcty1lwb8d648wns/eyJ1aV9tZXNzYWdlX3ZlcnNpb24iOjQsInVpX21lc3NhZ2Vfd2Vidmlld191cmxfc2NoZW1lIjoibXgiLCJtb2RlIjoidmVyaWZpY2F0aW9uIn0%3D",
            "type": "application/vnd.dwolla.v1.hal+json",
            "resource-type": "text/html"
        }
    }
}
```