Why some coins have a second field
On Bitcoin or Ethereum every user gets their own address, so the address alone says who the money is for. On a few networks, large services keep one address for all their customers and tell them apart with a number or a short text attached to each transaction. That extra field is called a destination tag (XRP), a memo (Stellar, Hedera, TON) or a payment ID (some older Monero integrations).
If you send to such a service without the field, the funds land in the service's shared wallet with no way to know they were yours. Nothing is lost on-chain — but crediting them to you requires the service's support team to match your transaction manually, and some charge for it.
Which core coins use one
| Coin | Field name | Who needs it | Self-custody wallet needs it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| XRP | Destination Tag (number) | Exchanges, custodial services | No |
| XLM (Stellar) | Memo (text or ID) | Exchanges, custodial services | No |
| USDT on TON, GRAM | Comment / Payment ID | Some custodial TON services | No |
| HBAR (Hedera) | Memo | Exchanges | No |
| KAS (Kaspa) | Usually none | — | No |
| XMR (Monero) | Payment ID (legacy) | Older exchange integrations | No — a swap gives you a dedicated deposit address |
The rule of thumb: if the address was generated by your own wallet, leave the field empty. If the address came from a deposit page of an exchange or a custodial app and that page shows a tag or memo, you must include it.
Where it appears in a swap
There are two places a tag or memo can matter:
- Payout. When you swap into XRP, XLM, USDT on TON or HBAR, the form shows an extra field next to the address. Fill it only if the receiving service gave you one. The pair pages for these coins list the field in the pre-send checklist.
- Deposit. When you swap from a coin that uses tags, the deposit instructions may include a tag or memo together with the deposit address. Copy both. This is how the swap recognises that the incoming transaction is yours.
Account reserves on XRP
The XRP Ledger requires every account to hold a base reserve of XRP to exist. Sending less than the reserve to a brand-new address fails. If you are swapping into a wallet you just created, swap at least a few XRP the first time; the pair page shows the current minimum.
What to do if you forgot
- You sent to an exchange without the tag/memo: open a ticket with the exchange, give them the transaction hash, the amount and your account. Most can credit it manually; some charge a fee.
- You put the wrong tag: same procedure — the funds are in the exchange's wallet under a different tag.
- You sent to your own wallet without a memo: nothing to fix; self-custody wallets do not use them.
- You entered a tag where none was needed: harmless on most networks; the field is simply ignored by self-custody wallets.
Practical checklist before receiving XRP, XLM, TON or HBAR
- Is the address from a wallet I control? → leave the field empty.
- Is the address from an exchange deposit page? → copy the tag/memo exactly, digits only for XRP.
- Is this a new XRP account? → send at least the reserve.
- Did I paste the address on the right network? (USDT on TON is not USDT on TRON.)
Related pair pages with the field built in: BTC → XRP, BTC → XLM, USDT TRC-20 → USDT on TON, XRP → USDT TRC-20.
BTC → XRP
USDT (TRC-20) → USDT (TON)
XRP → USDT (TRC-20)