Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Bhd (Stanchart) aims to sign up 80,000 cardholders for its new travel credit card -- Standard Chartered WorldMiles MasterCard World -- this year.

Its country head of consumer banking, Sonia Wedrychowicz-Horbatowska, said the card, designed for Malaysia's frequent travellers, would be offered to customers who fulfilled income requirements of RM24,000 a year.

"Malaysia is the first market to launch the credit card among Stanchart's operations in 68 countries," she told a media briefing after the launch of the card today.

She said the bank hoped that the new card would also be able to capture 20 per cent of the credit card market within one year.

"Travel is a popular leisure activity and we see this growing among Malaysians as air travel becomes more affordable and accessible," she said.

Wedrychowicz-Horbatowska said with the robust growth in air travel, up over 36 per cent in just over 10 years, business and leisure travellers had become its target segment.

"We believe that the new card will benefit this segment and the extensive rewards that come with it.

"At Stanchart, the customer-focused model has become the heart of our strategy, enabling our business to further grow while enhancing our customers' banking experience," she said.-- Bernama