Memo, tag, destination tag and comment: what they are and when you need one
A memo is a short extra field on a transaction. Networks name it differently: destination tag on the XRP Ledger, memo on Stellar, Cosmos Hub and Hedera, comment on TON. Exchanges that use one shared deposit address for many customers read it to know whose deposit it is. If the receiver gives you a memo, include it exactly. If you send to a wallet only you control, you normally leave it empty.
What a memo or tag does
Some services receive coins for many customers at one shared address. The memo is how they tell those deposits apart: it travels with your transaction, the service reads it and credits the matching account. On the XRP Ledger, for example, every address is an account that must keep a reserve of XRP, so a separate address for each customer is costly. An exchange uses one address and gives each customer a destination tag instead (XRPL docs).
The field goes by a different name on each network:
| Network | Name | What goes in it |
|---|---|---|
| XRP Ledger | Destination tag | A whole number (a 32-bit unsigned integer) |
| Stellar | Memo | Text up to 28 bytes, or a number (memo ID), per the Stellar docs |
| TON | Comment | Text sent with the transfer |
| Hedera | Memo | Text up to 100 bytes, per the Hedera docs |
| Cosmos Hub | Memo | Text |
A memo is stored on a public ledger, so anyone can read it. Never put anything private in one.
Which listings on xswap.to use a memo
The exchange listing flags these listings as using a memo or tag:
- XRP on the XRP Ledger (
xrp) - XLM on Stellar (
xlm) - ATOM on Cosmos Hub (
atom) - HBAR on Hedera (
hbar) - On the TON network: TON, which the listing names Gram (ex Ton/TonCoin) (
ton), USDT on TON (usdtton), NOT (not) and USDe on TON (usdeton) - Also ALGO, STX, OSMO, TIA, INJ, KAVA, AKT, BABY, FET, BAND, LUNA and LUNC on their own networks
The memo belongs to the network, not to the coin's name. XRP and ATOM as BEP-20 tokens on BNB Smart Chain (xrpbsc, atombsc) and TON on Ethereum or BNB Smart Chain (toncoin, tonbsc) use no memo. Each coin page lists its networks with a Memo / tag column, for example XRP and TON.
Payout memo and deposit memo in a swap
A swap can involve two memos, and they go in different places.
When you receive a memo coin
The swap form shows a Memo / Tag field under the receiving address. Fill it in when that address belongs to an exchange or another service that gave you a memo or tag, and copy it exactly. The field is marked required, but a wallet only you control normally needs no memo: leave it empty, and the form asks you to confirm that you want to continue without one. The order page does not repeat the payout memo, so check it before you create the order.
When you send a memo coin
The order page may show a memo next to the one-time deposit address, under the heading "This deposit needs a memo". Enter it in your wallet's Memo, Tag or Comment field when you send. Without it, the deposit cannot be matched to your order and the swap will not start. If the order page shows no memo, the deposit address alone is enough.
Forgot the memo or tag: what happens
In most cases the network does not check the memo. A transfer without one, or with a wrong one, confirms like any other and the coins arrive at the receiver's address. What happens next depends on who is on the other side:
- An exchange or custodial service: the deposit is not credited to your account automatically, because nothing tells the exchange it is yours. Its support team has to find and match it by hand, if it agrees to. Send them the transaction hash, the amount, the time and your account details.
- An XRP Ledger account that requires a tag: the owner can turn on Require Destination Tag, and then a payment without a tag fails with the code tecDST_TAG_NEEDED (XRPL docs). Your XRP stays with you, apart from the transaction cost, which the ledger takes even for failed payments.
- A Stellar account that requires a memo: an account can mark itself as memo-required under SEP-29, and wallets that support it block a payment to it that has no memo.
- A TON service with one shared wallet: the TON docs warn that deposits without the correct identifier in the comment may be lost.
- An xswap.to order: a deposit sent without the memo shown on the order page does not start the swap. Message @xswap_to on Telegram with the order's transaction ID (the Ref. ID on the order page) and the deposit hash. There is no promise it can be matched.
A wrong memo is no better than a missing one: it can match nobody, or someone else's account. If the coins went out on the wrong network instead, see sent crypto to the wrong network.
How to enter a memo without mistakes
- Look for a field called Memo, Tag, Destination tag, Comment or Note on your wallet's send screen. TON wallets call it a comment. If your wallet has no such field, do not use it to send to an address that needs a memo.
- Copy and paste the value. A destination tag is digits only, and one wrong digit makes it a different tag.
- Paste it into the memo field, never after the address in the address field.
- Stellar memos come in types such as text and ID. If the receiver names a type, use that one.
- Use a memo only with the address it came with. A tag from one exchange means nothing at another address.
- Each xswap.to order has its own deposit address and memo, so do not reuse them for a later swap.
- After sending, open the transaction on an explorer and check that the memo or tag is in it. The guide to checking a transaction on a block explorer shows how.
Swapping to XRP or XLM with a tag or memo
- Open the pair, for example BTC to XRP or BTC to XLM, and enter the amount.
- Paste the receiving address. If it is an exchange deposit address, paste the exchange's destination tag or memo into the Memo / Tag field.
- Create the order and check the Recipient line on the order page.
- Send the deposit to the one-time address, with the deposit memo if the order page shows one.
- Follow the order on the order page, or find it later on the Track Order page.
Selling XRP works the other way round. On XRP to USDT, the order page may give you a destination tag for the deposit, and your XRP payment needs it.
Questions people ask
What is a destination tag in XRP?
A destination tag is a number added to an XRP Ledger payment that tells the receiver, usually an exchange, which customer the payment belongs to. It is a whole number, not text. A deposit to an exchange that gave you a tag needs it; a payment to your own wallet does not.
What happens if I forget the destination tag?
It depends on the receiving account. If it requires a tag, the XRP Ledger rejects the payment and your XRP stays put, minus the transaction cost. If it does not, the XRP arrives, but the exchange cannot tell it is yours, so contact its support with the transaction hash.
Do I need a memo to send XLM to my own wallet?
No. A memo matters when the receiving address is shared by many users, as at an exchange that gave you one. Sending XLM to a Stellar wallet that only you control works without a memo.
Is a TON comment the same as a memo?
For deposits it plays the same role. TON wallets call the field a comment, while exchanges and swap services often say memo or tag. If the receiver gives you one, paste it into the comment field exactly as shown.
Why does USDT on TON have a memo field but USDT on TRON does not?
The memo belongs to the network, not the coin. The xswap.to listing flags a memo for USDT on TON (usdtton) and for none of the other USDT networks, such as TRON, Ethereum or BNB Smart Chain. When you send USDT on TON to an order, add the memo the order page shows, if it shows one.
Do I need a memo when I swap to XRP on xswap.to?
Only if the receiving address needs one. Enter the destination tag your exchange gave you in the Memo / Tag field under the address. If you receive into your own XRP wallet, leave it empty and confirm when the form asks.