diff --git a/src/qt/guiutil.cpp b/src/qt/guiutil.cpp
index ff70ca24af..d4e73adf96 100644
--- a/src/qt/guiutil.cpp
+++ b/src/qt/guiutil.cpp
@@ -77,7 +77,8 @@ void setupAmountWidget(QLineEdit *widget, QWidget *parent)
 
 bool parseBitcoinURI(const QUrl &uri, SendCoinsRecipient *out)
 {
-    if(uri.scheme() != QString("bitcoin"))
+    // return if URI is not valid or is no bitcoin URI
+    if(!uri.isValid() || uri.scheme() != QString("bitcoin"))
         return false;
 
     SendCoinsRecipient rv;