I find myself in need of being able to accept credit card payments to take my business to the next level and was just wondering if anyone could recommend a merchant account provider that they have personal experience with?

Without going into the details of why not (which I spoke about on another thread here) I do not want to use PayPal.

I want a real merchant account that will take credit card payments from clients of mine and transfer the money directly into my bank account.

Ideally I am looking for one which does not charge a monthly fee and has reasonable rates per transaction. I will be using it to have clients of mine pay for web development work so I will not be using it to sell a tangible product to them but rather a service.

Any recommendations would be most appreciated.

Thanks.

Carlos