Nelly wants to be the largest fintech startup in the healthcare industry. The Berlin-based startup already works with more than 1,200 medical practices in several European countries. But there are thousands more who could benefit from an upgrade for their administrative workflows.

That’s why Nelly recently raised €50 million in funding (approximately $51 million at current exchange rates) in a Series B round led by Cathay Innovation, along with Notion Capital. Existing investors b2venture, Lakestar, Motive Ventures, and Arc Investors also rejoined.

While many industries have fully transitioned to digital workflows, Nelly’s founding team realized that many medical practices were lagging behind. “I went to the doctor, I had to fill in all my data with pen and paper. And then four weeks later, I received a thick letter with a request to pay €120,” said Nelly co-founder and CEO Niklas Radner of TechCrunch.

The company started with a software-as-a-service product that allows medical practices to digitalize new patients. Patients book an appointment and then receive a confirmation message via SMS, WhatsApp, or email with a link. They can click on the link and fill in their personal details and medical history.

“But the reality today is that more than 50% of all appointments are still not scheduled digitally. They are scheduled through a phone call or by just walking into the practice,” said Radner. So that patients can also scan a QR code to open Nelly’s portal from the waiting room.

Behind the scenes, Nelly integrates with the practice’s existing management systems. Data is updated and stored in these legacy systems so that practices do not have to migrate to the new system. These connectors are either built in-house by the Nelly team or developed by Nelly’s partners.

This onboarding system acts as the backbone for the rest of the product suite. “You can see Nelly as, say, a Typeform/DocuSign/planner for medical practices,” Radner said.

On the patient side, in addition to online bookings and the onboarding features, patients can pay medical practices using online payments or Nelly-managed card readers. Patients will also receive reminders to leave a review on Google Maps.

As for medical practices, Nelly can handle invoices and billing. This feature saves significant time for medical practices, as it can lead to spending less time chasing out-of-pocket payments.

Nelly can also be used as an alternative to a corporate bank account with an expense management system and a corporate credit card. Finally, Nelly offers factoring for instant payment of outstanding claims.

These strong integrations of the patient journey and the back-office systems of the medical practice create a barrier to entry for other fintech companies. Nelly has also undergone data protection certifications. “We are the first company to send digital invoices in the medical space in Germany,” says Radner.

The product is currently available in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It recently expanded to Italy, and there are more countries to come on the way.

“Nelly works with the largest DSOs (dental service organizations) in Europe … And they want to scale their 700 locations with Nelly,” said Radner. “That’s why we will expand our customers to more European markets.”