Customer API Tokens

Create a Customer Token to access customer specific data or execute sensitive actions (related to funds movement). Customer Tokens only allow access to resources that are associated with the specific customer the token was created for. A customer token is valid for up to 24 hours (customizable by setting the expiresIn field).

In order to create a new customer token that has access to sensitive scopes, the customer must be taken through two factor authentication (one-time password) or to supply Json Web Token (See this section for more information.). The flow of API calls will be:

1. Call create customer token verification
2. You get a verification token in the response
3. The customer receives a one time password
4. The customer types the password into your UI
5. Call create customer token and provide the verificationToken you received in step #2 and verificationCode you received in step #4. You receive a new customer token in response.

In order to avoid repeat customer authentications, you may store the customer token and re-use it until it expires. The recommended way to store the customer token is on the customer's device, using the browser's local storage.

info

It is advisable that you read and understand the recommended way to use Unit's Authentication and Scopes before you create and use API tokens in your app.

Create Customer Token

Create a bearer token for a particular customer. The returned token can be used in the Authorization header as a secure alternative to the broader API token.

A Customer Token can only interact with resources under a particular customer. As an example, calling List Transactions with a customer bearer token will return only transactions within accounts under that particular customer.

note

When using a Customer Bearer Token, API calls may be made directly from your front-end (browser or app).

Verb	POST
Url	https://api.s.unit.sh/customers/:customerId/token
Required Scope	customer-token-write
Data Type	customerToken
Timeout (Seconds)	5

Example Request (two-factor authentication not required):

curl -X POST 'https://api.s.unit.sh/customers/8/token'
-H 'Content-Type: application/vnd.api+json'
-H 'Authorization: Bearer ${TOKEN}'
--data-raw '{
  "data": {
    "type": "customerToken",
    "attributes": {
      "scope": "customers accounts"
    }
  }
}'

Attributes

Name	Type	Description
scope	string	list of Scopes separated by spaces.
verificationToken	string	Required if scope includes a scope which require two-factor authentication. Received as a response from Create Customer Token Verification.
verificationCode	string	Required if the scope attribute includes a scope which requires two-factor authentication. 6 digits code sent to the customer through the desired channel.
expiresIn	integer	Optional. The lifetime of the token (in seconds). Maximum value is 86400 (24 hours). Default value is also 24 hours.
resources	Array of RestrictedResource	Optional. Restrict token to one or more specific resources. To one or many cards and/or to one or many accounts (cards under it, payments, transactions).
upgradableScope	string	Optional. list of Scopes separated by spaces. The customer will be able to upgrade the token to the scopes you provide here. customer-token-write scope is required when setting this attribute.

Listing all accounts of a customer:

curl -X GET 'https://api.s.unit.sh/accounts' \
-H "Authorization: Bearer ${CUSTOMER_TOKEN}"

Example Request (two-factor authentication required)

{
  "data": {
    "type": "customerToken",
    "attributes": {
      "scope": "customers accounts-write accounts",
      "verificationToken": "i8FWKLBjXEg3TdeK93G3K9PKLzhbT6CRhn/VKkTsm....",
      "verificationCode": "203130"
    }
  }
}

Response

Response is a JSON:API document.

201 Created

Field	Type	Description
data.attributes.token	string	The token issued for the customer.
data.attributes.expiresIn	integer	The lifetime of the token (in seconds).

Example Response:

{
  "data": {
    "type": "customerBearerToken",
    "attributes": {
      "token": "v2.public.eyJyb2xlIjoiY3VzdG9tZX...",
      "expiresIn": 86400
    }
  }
}

note

Once created, it is recommended to store the cutomer token on the customer's device for further use. When using a Customer Token, API calls may be made directly from your front-end (browser or app).

Create Customer Token Verification

In order to increase security and prevent token theft, Unit supports two-factor authentication when creating a customer token.

When creating a customer token that contains a scope which requires two-factor authentication (see Scopes), it is required to first create a verification challenge that will be sent to the customer.

The challenge is a six digits code and is valid for 10 minutes after its creation.

note

The phone number that is used for the verification process is the one defined for the customer whose identifier is provided as part of the request params. An alternative phone number can be provided for Business Customers via the phone attribute (see below).

note

In Sandbox, Unit will not send a text message, in order to avoid breaching the electronic communications consent requirements. In order to create a customer token that has access to scopes that require two factor authentication, please use the passcode 000001

info

The rate limit for verifying a customer is 5 attempts per 10 minutes.

Verb	POST
Url	https://api.s.unit.sh/customers/:customerId/token/verification
Required Scope	customers
Data Type	customerTokenVerification
Timeout (Seconds)	5

Attributes

Name	Type	Description
channel	string	Send a verification code to the customer through one of the following channels - sms or call.
phone	Phone	Optional. This allows providing the phone number of one of the customer's authorized users. The provided phone must match an authorized user phone and will be used in the One Time Password (OTP) authentication process instead of the business customer contact's phone.
appHash	string	Optional. For sms verifications only, 11-character hash string that identifies your app. Appended at the end of your verification SMS body the way that client-side SMS Retriever API expects.
language	string	Optional. Select the verification language using a 2-letters code. Default is English. See Localization Options bellow for the support languages and their 2-letters code.

Create a token verification:

curl -X POST 'https://api.s.unit.sh/customers/10001/token/verification'
-H 'Content-Type: application/vnd.api+json'
-H 'Authorization: Bearer ${TOKEN}'
--data-raw '{
  "data": {
    "type": "customerTokenVerification",
    "attributes": {
      "channel": "sms"
    }
  }
}'

201 Created

Field	Type	Description
verificationToken	string	The generated verification token . It should be passed back to Create Customer Bearer Token along with the verification code the customer received on the specified channel

Localization Options

English-en, Afrikaans-af, Arabic-ar, Catalan-ca, Chinese-zh, Chinese (Mandarin)-zh-CN, Chinese (Cantonese)-zh-HK, Croatian-hr, Czech-cs, Danish-da, Dutch-nl, English (British)-en-GB, Estonian-et, Finnish-fi, French-fr, German-de, Greek-el, Hebrew-he, Hindi-hi, Hungarian-hu, Indonesian-id, Italian-it, Japanese-ja, Kannada-kn, Korean-ko, Malay-ms, Marathi-mr, Norwegian-nb, Polish-pl, Portuguese - Brazil-pt-BR, Portuguese-pt, Romanian-ro, Russian-ru, Slovak-sk, Spanish-es, Swedish-sv, Tagalog-tl, Telegu-te, Thai-th, Turkish-tr, Vietnamese-vi

Example Response:

{
  "data": {
    "type": "customerTokenVerification",
    "attributes": {
      "verificationToken": "i8FWKLBjXEg3TdeK93G3K9PKLzhbT6CRhn/VKkTsm...."
    }
  }
}

Create Customer Token Using JWT

Option to generate a customer token without Token Verification step.

info

For more information see the following guide

Prerequisites:

1. JWT public key should be available through the provider's JWKS endpoint.
2. Org Settings should contain JWKs path - Customizing the jwks path is done through the Unit Dashboard (under Org Settings > JWT Settings).
3. In case the issuer can be different from the one that can be inferred from the jwks path, add it also to the JWT Settings according to the authentication provider as described below so Unit will be able to validate the token issuer (the iss claim):
   When using Auth0 and Custom Domain is defined, set also a Custom Domain field.
   When using Stytch and your Issuer is not in the following template: stytch.com/PROJECT_ID, please provide the correct one under the Issuer field.
   When using Okta and your Issuer is not an Okta url, please provide the correct issuer under the Issuer field.
4. Add JWT subject to the relevant Customer - can be done through ApplicationFormPrefill, Application creation or patch Customer:
   Individual - Must contain at least one: jwtSubject field or AuthorizedUser's jwtSubject field.
   Business - Must contain at least one: Contact's jwtSubject field or AuthorizedUser's jwtSubject field.

Attributes

Name	Type	Description
scope	string	list of Scopes separated by spaces.
jwtToken	string	Required if scope includes a scope which require two-factor authentication. Should be in a valid JWT structure.

note

At the moment Auth0, Stytch, Amazon Cognito and Okta JWTs are supported and RS256 is the only supported algorithm for signing.

Example Request (JWT):

curl -X POST 'https://api.s.unit.sh/customers/8/token'
-H 'Content-Type: application/vnd.api+json'
-H 'Authorization: Bearer ${TOKEN}'
--data-raw '{
  "data": {
    "type": "customerToken",
    "attributes": {
      "scope": "customers accounts-write accounts",
      "jwtToken": "i8FW..."
    }
  }
}'

Response

Same as Create Customer Token response.

Testing

In Sandbox, Unit will not send a text message, in order to avoid breaching the electronic communications consent requirements. In order to create a customer token that has access to scopes that require two factor authentication, please use the passcode 000001.

How-To Guides

Below are common use cases for using a customer token and steps you’ll need to follow to build them:

Allowing a customer to view their debit cards

Example: Your application contains a page that displays the customer's debit cards.

Follow these steps:

1. Call the Create customer token with the cards scope included.
2. Call the List Cards operation and pass the customer token received in step #1 in the request Authorization header. No need to pass the filter[customerId] parameter since the token handles the filtering.

Listing all cards of a customer example:

curl -X GET 'https://api.s.unit.sh/cards' \
-H "Authorization: Bearer ${CUSTOMER_TOKEN}"

Allowing a customer to create a new debit card (requires two-factor authentication)

Example: Your application contains a page that enables debit card creation.

Follow these steps:

1. The customer clicks the Create Debit Card button on their cards application page.
2. Call the Create Customer Token Verification. This will return a verification token and will send the customer a verification code.
3. Allow the customer to enter the verification code they received.
4. Call the Create customer token with the cards-write scope included as well as the verification token received in step #2 and the verification code entered by the customer in step #3.
5. Call the Create Individual Debit Card and pass the customer token received in step #4 in the request Authorization header.

Creating a new debit card example:

curl -X POST 'https://api.s.unit.sh/cards' \
-H "Content-Type: application/vnd.api+json" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer ${CUSTOMER_TOKEN}" \
--data-raw '{
  "data":{
    "type":"individualDebitCard",
     "attributes": {
         "shippingAddress": {
             "street": "5230 Newell Rd",
             "city": "Palo Alto",
             "state": "CA",
             "postalCode": "94303",
             "country": "US"
         }
     },
     "relationships": {
         "account": {
             "data": {
                 "type": "depositAccount",
                 "id": "10001"
             }
         }
     }
  }
}
'