What is Memo_Text, Memo_ID, Memo_Hash and Memo_Return in Stellar Lumens

If you are sending your Stellar Lumens or Stellar asset or token to an exchange, you might have to fill in one of these four fields in addition to the address field – Memo_Text, Memo_ID, Memo_Hash and Memo_Return.

Typically the memo fields are used by exchanges because they have a limited number of wallet addresses. The Memo_ID is used by crypto exchanges to identify where the received funds should be deposited. The Memo_Text is just a text field. The Memo_Hash is an encrypted field.

Text and ID are the most common, and are better for general purpose. The others have more specific use cases by design.

In most cases, you will never have to fill in Memo_Text, Memo_ID, Memo_Hash or Memo_Return if you are sending Stellar Lumens to a non-exchange address. So, if you are sending Stellar Lumens to your friend or another wallet of yours that is not controlled by exchange, you can leave it blank or if there is an option to disable memo field, like in case of Binance cryptocurrency exchange, you can untick memo field.

This will send XLM from Binance wallet to your wallet without filling anything in memo field. However, certain exchanges let you write anything in this field. This way, they make use of Memo Text field to send a message that accompanies the amount.