Blacklane
Global chauffeur platform strengthens engineering and mobile reliability Modernising backend services, mobile apps and payments to deliver a more stable, scalable experience across 50+ countries.
(3-minute read)
Global chauffeur platform strengthens engineering and mobile reliability Modernising backend services, mobile apps and payments to deliver a more stable, scalable experience across 50+ countries.
(3-minute read)
Blacklane, a global chauffeur-service platform operating across 50+ countries, was facing instability and performance challenges throughout its mobile and engineering ecosystem. Customers and chauffeurs experienced recurring mobile outages, degraded app performance, and friction in authentication and onboarding flows, all of which slowed progress against the 2024/25 roadmap. Behind the scenes, backend services were constrained by technical debt within the central Rails monolith, inconsistent engineering standards, and a partially completed transition to Golang. Authentication using Keycloak needed modernisation, and collaboration between teams had become fragmented. Internationally, payment operations, especially in regions like the Middle East, created customer friction. Card authorisation holds could remain in place for up to 45–60 days, and re-authorisation flows sometimes triggered multiple holds, driving confusion, operational overhead and reputational risk. G&F were engaged to stabilise the mobile experience, uplift engineering practices and strengthen global payment reliability.
In this case study
â—Ź Stabilising the iOS & Android mobile ecosystem
â—Ź Modernising backend engineering and authentication
â—Ź Improving global payment performance and customer trust
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Blacklane’s mobile apps suffered from performance bottlenecks and recurring outages that impacted both customers and chauffeurs. Authentication flows needed simplification, and tracking/experimentation tooling required strengthening to support data-driven product decisions.
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G&F stabilised the core mobile architecture, resolved root-cause issues behind outages, and improved the reliability of both iOS and Android apps. We enhanced authentication journeys, refined onboarding steps, and improved tracking frameworks to support more robust analytics and experimentation.
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These improvements significantly strengthened the day-to-day reliability of Blacklane’s mobile experience.
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Blacklane’s payment operations, particularly outside Europe, were creating customer friction and operational burden. In several key regions, including the Middle East, card authorisation holds could remain locked for 45–60 days, leaving customers without access to their funds and driving complaints, confusion and churn. Re-authorisation flows for pre-booked rides sometimes triggered multiple holds, compounding the issue and damaging trust in the platform.
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G&F analysed Blacklane’s end-to-end payment journey across PSPs, acquirers and issuing banks to identify the root causes behind long fund-release windows and duplicate holds. We supported the redesign of authorisation and re-authorisation workflows, strengthening the logic that governs how and when holds are placed. G&F also contributed to evaluating alternative PSP options and supported new currency enablement for high-growth regions.
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These improvements helped Blacklane reduce friction, improve reliability and provide a more predictable global payments experience for both customers and chauffeurs.
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Blacklane’s backend ecosystem was constrained by a legacy Rails monolith, uneven engineering standards and a partially executed shift towards Golang. These issues slowed delivery, increased operational complexity and made it difficult to scale reliably as the business expanded into new markets.
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G&F strengthened backend engineering by helping transition high-impact services from Ruby to Golang, improving performance, maintainability and long-term scalability. We optimised the central Rails monolith to reduce bottlenecks and modernised authentication by supporting the migration from Keycloak to Auth0, improving both security and developer experience.
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Alongside the technical uplift, G&F worked with engineering leadership to embed clearer workflows, stronger coding standards and more consistent delivery practices across teams, creating a more aligned, predictable and high-velocity engineering organisation ready to support global growth.
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Improved stability and performance across iOS and Android, supporting a smoother, more reliable experience for customers and chauffeurs worldwide.
Strengthened engineering foundations by supporting the shift from Ruby to Golang, optimising the Rails monolith, and modernising authentication through migration to Auth0.
Addressed long 45–60 day authorisation holds and improved PSP alignment, reducing customer friction and restoring confidence in payments outside Europe.
