Prior to COVID-19, the digital challenger banks were making significant advances in a number of important markets. However, rapid gains in customer numbers couldn’t hide the fact that most of these customers had a primary account with a traditional bank where they received their salary and kept most of their money. The gradual increase in trust in challenger banks was abruptly halted by the pandemic, which caused customers to retreat to the perceived safety of the more familiar brands. At the same time, traditional banks were forced to digitize rapidly, narrowing the gap between the service levels of the innovative newcomers and their more conservative rivals. The net result is that established banks are better equipped than ever to counter the threat of the digital start-ups.