It is the peer-to-peer business model of the 21st century in action.
"We've been working hard over the last 18 months to legitimize a licensed peer-to-peer business model," Mr. Liubinskas said.
"It was known for a long time that Ezubao was heading for trouble because it was so aggressive," Joe Zhang, a veteran peer-to-peer business owner and executive claimed to the Financial Times.
Proponents of the shared economy can sometimes be guilty of an arrogant evangelism about the superiority of their peer-to-peer business models, which are for the most part taking advantage of a grey space that is lightly regulated or taxed.
Today, its peer-to-peer business is still booming, but Snobswap sees more potential in its retail partnerships going forward.
"The peer-to-peer business is going to take a while to take off," Loureiro told me by phone.
It's not clear from Uber's leaked numbers how big their peer-to-peer business is compared to the original black car or taxi business lines.
With its list of investors, it should be well positioned to tackle the problems that come with running a peer-to-peer business in the travel space.
Today, the shops are paying a 10% commission fee to Snobswap, while its peer-to-peer business involves a 15% commission.
