An online payments company set up by two Limerick-born brothers has raised $18 million in its latest round of funding.

Stripe enables developers to immediately add a payments system to a website.

Patrick (23) and John (21) Collison have relocated to San Francisco, and have been busy establishing the firm.

The funding values Stripe at about $100 million. In March last year, the firm raised $2 million from Silicon Valley investors, valuing it at $20 million. At that point, Strip had yet to release a product.

Its backers include Sequoia Capital, which is said to have contributed $17 million in the latest round of funding, with Paypal co-founder Max Levchin, also coming on board.

Irish businessman Liam Casey and co-founders of Ebay Peter Thiel and Elon Musk have also backed the company.

Stripe declined to comment on the reports.

The company is in direct competition with Paypal, which currently accounts for about 30 per cent of e-commerce transactions. Its offering allows developers to take payments without having to set up their own merchant bank account or store credit card details. Instead, Stripe keeps the data secure and complies with anti-fraud regulations.

The brothers already have a successful history in the technology industry. The pair set up Auctomatic, which manages inventory for sites like eBay, before selling it in 2008 for a reported $5 million to a Canadian firm.