Monero, Steem, Stellar, Ripple. What makes them different for exchange transactions?

When you send and receive cryptocurrency via an exchanger you usually come through a number of standard steps — you choose the currency you want to exchange, specify the amount, and then indicate the currency you want to receive. The system automatically calculates how many coins you’ll receive at the best rate.
However, some cryptocurrency systems have small differences. Let’s make everything clear. What is the difference between transactions in Monero, Steem, Stellar and Ripple networks? Spoiler alert: the difference lies in the transaction tags.

Inside the STEEM platform there is a concept of “memo” — it is a combination of numbers and letters that is unique for each wallet. If you want to buy or exchange STEEM, make sure you entered the memo correctly together with the wallet address. But if you are a registered user on steemit.com you can use your nickname as a wallet address, and then you do not need to deal with the memo. Stellar has the same system of tags, and it is also known as a memo — be careful!

Ripple (XRP) network has its own similar tags — a destination tag is a short combination of letters for each Ripple wallet. Therefore, when buying or exchanging XRP, make sure that you correctly entered this tag. On the other hand, when you are sending Ripple, you must indicate the destination tag in the payment specification section, which is usually specify next to the address to which you need to send funds to convert.

Monero (XMR) works in a similar way, it requires a Payment ID, which identifies each transaction. However, this feature is optional. The payment ID is generated directly in the XMR wallet.

Congrats on finishing the article! You are now a destination tag, payment ID and memo PRO!