Company: ZHIHF
Filing Date: 2025-04-15
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0001410578-25-000729
Chunk: 35

Company: Zhihu Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-04-15
Form: 20-F
Item: Item 3
Chunk 35
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 PRC law, banks and wealth management agencies are not allowed to contractually promise that the wealth management products that they offer are principal-guaranteed or will yield interest income. In addition, we are subject to risks that any of the banks or wealth management agencies that sell us wealth management products may not perform their contractual obligations, such as in the event of insolvency. As a result, the income generated from and the market value of the wealth management products that we purchase may be adversely affected. The aforementioned risks are subject to market and economic conditions. Government policies affecting wealth management products and our investment policy may also change in ways unfavorable to us. As we may continue to conduct those cash management activities, if any of the above adverse events occur, the products may fail to generate our expected return and we may even incur loss as a result.

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We are subject to payment processing risk.

Our subscribing members and business partners pay us using a variety of different online payment methods. We rely on third parties to process such payment. Acceptance and processing of these payment methods are subject to certain rules and regulations and require payment of interchange and other fees. To the extent there are increases in payment processing fees, material changes in the payment ecosystem, such as delays in receiving payments from payment processors and/or changes to rules or regulations concerning payment processing, our revenue, operating expenses and results of operation could be adversely impacted.

We also do not have control over the security measures of our third-party payment service providers, and security breaches of the online payment systems that we use could expose us to litigation and possible liability for failing to secure confidential customer information and could, among other things, damage our reputation and the perceived security of all of the online payment systems that we use. If a well-publicized internet security breach were to occur, users concerned about the security of their online payments may become reluctant to purchase our products and services through payment service providers even if the publicized breach did not involve the payment systems or methods we use. If any of the above were to occur and damage our reputation or the perceived security of the payment systems that we use, we may lose subscribing members as they may be discouraged from purchasing products or services in our community, which may adversely affect our business and results of operations.

We have been, and may continue to be, subject to claims and allegations relating to intellectual property and other causes.

As a leading online content community, it is essential for us to operate our business without infringing or otherwise violating third-party rights, including third-party intellectual property rights