diff --git a/changelog/unreleased/smtp-credentials-nil b/changelog/unreleased/smtp-credentials-nil
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..44db254a02
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog/unreleased/smtp-credentials-nil
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+Bugfix: Check if SMTP credentials are nil
+
+Check if SMTP credentials are nil before passing them to the
+SMTPClient, causing it to crash.
+
+https://github.com/cs3org/reva/pull/1006
diff --git a/internal/http/services/ocmd/invites.go b/internal/http/services/ocmd/invites.go
index 20cd80170e..d90cdd2646 100644
--- a/internal/http/services/ocmd/invites.go
+++ b/internal/http/services/ocmd/invites.go
@@ -44,7 +44,9 @@ type invitesHandler struct {
 
 func (h *invitesHandler) init(c *Config) {
 	h.gatewayAddr = c.GatewaySvc
-	h.smtpCredentials = smtpclient.NewSMTPCredentials(c.SMTPCredentials)
+	if c.SMTPCredentials != nil {
+		h.smtpCredentials = smtpclient.NewSMTPCredentials(c.SMTPCredentials)
+	}
 	h.meshDirectoryURL = c.MeshDirectoryURL
 }