A destination memo tells a shared receiving account who should get your transfer. Before sending across a bridge, check whether the final destination requires one and whether the route can include it.
What is a destination memo?
A destination memo is extra information that helps assign a payment after it reaches an address. Some networks call it a “tag” instead. The address identifies the receiving wallet; the memo or tag can identify your account inside that wallet.
For example, an exchange may use one XRP address for many customers and ask each person to add a different destination tag. XRPL documentation describes tags as a way to identify a hosted recipient or payment purpose. A Bungee bridge aggregator can help compare cross-chain routes, but the destination’s memo requirement still matters.
This is different from typing a note for yourself. A required memo is part of the payment details, and leaving it out can stop the exchange from crediting your deposit automatically.
How does a memo fit into a bridge transfer?
A bridge moves tokens between blockchains, or networks. A route may lock or burn tokens on the source network, then release or create tokens on the destination network. The destination transfer may be a separate transaction with its own recipient details.
A memo entered on the source transaction does not automatically travel with the tokens. The bridge or route must pass the right memo into the destination transaction. In practice, support depends on the exact route and destination network, so a familiar asset name alone is not enough to confirm it will work.
Imagine you hold tokens on Polygon and want an XRP deposit at an exchange. The exchange gives you an address and a destination tag. If the chosen bridge route sends XRP but cannot include that tag, the XRP may arrive at the exchange’s shared address without a clear account assignment.
What should you check before sending?
Check the receiving service’s deposit instructions for the exact asset and network. Look for a required memo, destination tag, or similar field, and copy its value exactly. Kraken’s deposit instructions, for example, distinguish XRP destination tags from Stellar memos.
Then check the bridge route’s destination details. Confirm that they include a field for the required memo and that the route carries it through to the final payment. If the route only asks for an address, do not assume that a memo entered elsewhere will be attached.
Also confirm the asset and network match the deposit instructions. USDC on Optimism and USDC on Polygon are tokens on different networks; sending to a deposit address for the wrong network can create a separate recovery problem. A bungee bridge can compare routes, but you still need to check the receiving account’s requirements.
What if the route cannot include it?
Use a route only if you can provide the required memo where the final transfer is prepared. If you cannot, a common alternative is a two-step transfer: bridge to a wallet you control on the destination network, then send from that wallet to the receiving service with its required memo.
That extra step takes another transaction and usually another network fee, the payment to process a transaction on a blockchain. It also means checking that your wallet supports the destination asset and network. Send a small test amount first when practical, while remembering that some services set minimum deposits.
If a transfer has already arrived without its required memo, the blockchain may show the funds at the shared address, but the service may not know which customer to credit. Contact the receiving service with the transaction details; recovery depends on its process and the asset involved.
Before acting, ask yourself: can this exact route deliver the right asset to the right network and include the destination’s required memo?